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EIZ 



113148 



COLOMBIA 



COLOMBIA 



BIT 

i'HANOU JAMKS KDER 



WITH 40 IU.I"-THAT1OW* ANO 2 MAW 



T. FISHKR UN WIN 
LONDON: ADELPHI TKRRACK 
IJJl'^H:: IN8ELSTRASSE ao 



m 



TO 
ME Y I* 1 A T H K U 

I'lONKKU OF 

IN COU>MIUA 



PREFACE 

THOUGH, by virtue of the possession of literary abili- 
ties to which I can lay no claim, or by longer 
residence in that hospitable land, there are others 
better fitted to write on Colombia, yet I do not 
believe there is any foreigner who has had the oppor- 
tunities that have been presented to. me in the course 
of my practice for coming into such close touch 
with so many different spheres of activity in widely 
scattered parts of the country. United by ties of 
birth, family, friendships, and business relations to 
Colombia, and consequently appreciating, I hope, the 
native point of view, and at the same time being 
aware of the attitude of the Northerner, I felt that 
in undertaking this book for the South American 
Series I could render a double service a service 
to the Colombians in sympathetically interpreting; 
their country, to the Anglo-Saxons, and a service 
to the English and American business man, interested 
actually or potentially in Colombia in setting before 
him a true picture of what he wants to know. 

If I have succeeded in keeping up to, the high 
standard set by the authors of the other volumes in 
the South American Series and in presenting a true, 
fair, and sympathetic general picture of present- 
day commercial and industrial conditions in 
Colombia, I shall deem myself well rewarded for 
the time snatched from my professional and leisure 
hours. For there, is so much extant in print that is 
utterly misleading, so much that is utterly untruthful, 



and so little that strikes the just medium between 
glowing panegyrics that read like a promoter's pros- 
pectus on the one hand, a,nd ignorant, unsympathetic 
abuse and the worthless impressionism of shallow 
journalists on the other, Colombia is neither a land 
where " gold grows on coffee-trees/' where " children 
play with nuggets picked up on the streets/' where 
" therq are ready-made fortunes tOi be picked up for 
the asking " nor a country " reeking with disease " 
and "swarming with revolutionary bandits, swash- 
buckling generals, and reckless demagogues/' as 
stock salesmen or embittered adventurers would have 
us believe. 

The foreigners best qualified to speak usually 
remain silent. Mindful of the fact that it is in 
general presumptuous for a man to speak of a coun- 
try not -his own, and especially aware of the sensi-^ 
tiveness of the Latin American to criticism, realizing 
how irrevocable is the printed word, how deleterious 
to, their own personal interests frank speech may 
be, how readily their motives may, be questioned 
and their views misunderstood, they often lack the 
courage to step forward, the courage to make the 
mistakes of fact and of judgment that inevitably 
creep into any book, and the courage to expose 
themselves to, attack and hostile criticism; And yet 
it is a burning necessity that peoples learn to know 
one other, and Colombia, perhaps above all Latin 
countries, has suffered from being misunderstood. 

Colombia is not an opera botiffe country, nor a 
country all of jungles, fevers, wild beasts, and savage 
Indians, where one is exposed to death instanter- No, 
it is rather an ordinary flesh-and-bloo.d country of 
happy and unhappy homes and families and of daily 
business routine. H.ere are people who .work their 
plantations, who min,e the bowels of the earth? and wash 
the rivftr sands, who, hew down forests, who have their 
shops, who paint pictures, sing song;s, make books, 



publish newspapers, who are earnestly engaged in 
attempting to solve their political, economical, 
ecclesiastical, and other national problems, even as 
are the British, or the Americans, or the Canadians, 
or the French, or the Germans. 

They may go, to church more or to school less 
than other peoples, their population may be scanty, 
their science of government not perfected, their lower 
classes uneducated, but they are worthy of serious 
attention. They are not a nation of slaves. Here 
are free men striving along various lines fox 
national improvement. There are eiarnest men, 
defenders of the old moralities and of the old beliefs, 
there are Conservatives, there are Radicals engrossed 
with the new ideas and the new hopes. Can it be 
fairly doubted that these descendants of th&t yirile 
race of Spaniards who gave to humanity a New 
eWorld, of those enlightened heroes of the Independ- 
ence who, imbued with ideals of liberty, and human 
rights, fought for their nation's sovereignty, will not 
work out their own salvation, will not finally succeed 
in swinging their nation fully into line in the grand 
march of the world? 

But with such matters I have not concerned myself 
in this book. To present the national soul, the inmost 
spirit, of even a small population like Colombia's 
is a task requiring the perseverant labour, kfeen in- 
sight, and breadth of view of a gifted social philoso- 
pher. Neithpr have I attempted, discretion being 
the better part of bookmaking, to intrude upon the 
paths of science. Notwithstanding Colombia presents, 
scientific friends tell me, a splendid and almost virgin 
field for original exploration and iavestigiation in 
natural history and anthropology, the scientist will 
find herein little if anything of interest, though I 
trust that thle bibliographical miate.rial a,t least may 
prove of value to research workers. I have confined 
myself to the point of view of the mere business 

IA 



x PREFACE 

man ; it is Colombia's present industrial and financial 
condition that I have primarily attempted to portray, 
with only such 1 bare historical, political, and socio- 
logical material as was necessary to frame the picture. 

I have tried to lay the facts fairly and candidly 
before the reader. In so doing, though I have as 
far as possible sunk my own personal views, I have 
been under the necessity of indulging at times in 
stricture of some things Colombian. In fact, I fear 
that, realizing my sympathy and friendly feeling for 
Colombia might tend to make me unduly indulgent, 
I may have occasionally gone too far towards the 
other extreme and unconsciously passed from criti- 
cism to censure. But I feel confident that my 
Colombian friends, knowing well my love for them 
and their country, will pardon any errors of judgment 
on my part and will appreciate that any criticisms 
made have been intended in the best of faith to be 
constructive and helpful. If I had attempted, on the 
other hand, to veil what seemed to me to be defects, 
such lack of sincerity would have been at once 
evident, and all hope that this book, by a sympathetic 
presentation to foreign readers, might redound to 
Colombia's good would be vain. 

I think I recognize to the full the difficulty pf 
the national problems the Colombian Government 
and the enlightened classes in Colombia have to 
contend with. Above all, perhaps, is the problem 
of carrying on the necessary governmental functions, 
to the extent nowadays required for speedy progress, 
with insufficient sources of revenue, and the difficulty 
of levying new forms of taxes which the people are 
not accustomed to. 

Railroads and roads could be so easily built, new 
schools opened, agriculture officially encouraged, and 
its chief enemies, like the prevalent locust, checked, 
rich regions made sanitary and habitable, if there 
were only lots of money in hand to do the work 



PREFACE xi 

with ! And if foreign capital be sought, the grave 
problem arises how to obtain it without subjecting 
the country to the risk of an intolerable foreign 
domination. And social questions are no less hard : 
how to arouse the masses from the lethargy of 
ignorance and illiteracy ; how to free the Indians 
from the sullen fear, inherited from the Spanish days, 
of the priests and the governing classes ; how to 
civilize the savages within the country's borders. 
These and other serious problems, the delicate one, 
for instance, of how to maintain, in a; strongly 
Catholic country, a just balance of power and influ- 
ence between the ecclesiastical and the political 
authorities, between priests and citizens all these 
problems call for constructive statesmanship of the 
highest order and for a rare spirit of co -operation. 
It is no wonder that the prevalent note of pessimism 
in the modern world finds strong echoes even in 
remote Colombia. 

Few of our books evince even an inkling of 
appreciation of these besetting problems. The 
dearth of reliable books in English on the minor 
Spanish American countries is especially deplorable 
now that South America is on the eve of a great 
development. Colombia, as I have already indi- 
cated, has suffered much in this regard. Immedi- 
ately after the Independence a number of interesting 
works were printed. ; ibut interest in the country seems 
early to have lagged, and only at rare intervals were 
there any publications of merit in our language to 
record her progress through the course of the nine- 
teenth century. In this connection, it may not be 
inopportune to sound a note of warning, at least 
touching Colombia, ag'ainst the majority, of general 
books on South America. It does not seem to matte* 
much whether the author's general attitude be one 
o;f hostility to the Latin countries, as in Stephen 
Bonsall's The American Mediterranean, or of friend- 



xii PREFACE 

ship, as in H. JVW. Van Dyke's Through South 
America, to instance, only the two latest publications 
that have come to my, notice in either case absurd 
errors of fact and historical mis-statements are apt 
to abound. Another recent book of a much more 
serious stamp, R. E. Speer's South American 
Problems, also does Colombia scant justice, indulges 
in equally unjustified slurs as does Bonsall's, iand pro- 
duces a false general impression : it contains, how- 
ever, much truth and food for thought, and should: 
be read by any one desiring to obtain an idea of 
South American education and religion ias viewed 
from the Protestant Mission standpoint by a man of 
experience, evidently sincere, though naturally of a 
strong anti-Catholic bias. The matters that he treats 
of religious questions I have neither felt myself 
competent to discuss nor deemed within the legiti- 
mate scope of this book ; but it does seem to me that, 
even granting the truth of his premises, the conclusion 
he evidently draws, namely, that the solution in large 
part of these particular South American problems 
is an extended Protestant missionary movement, is 
without logical foundation, and equally without 
foundation in the results, utterly negligible either 
for good or ill, that have been heretofore obtained 
by the few Protestant missions that have been in 
Colombia, A broader, more modern, and more pro- 
gressive! outlook than the average village cura 
possesses is indeed needed, but it is not to be found 
in the narrow, shallow, illiberal mentalities that fill 
the ranks of the missionaries. Probably little 
less of both priest and missionary, and a little more 
of the engineer, the doctor, the economist, and the 
scientist would enable us more surely to, make a 
favourable prognosis. 

I know of only two general book's on "Colombia; 
published within recent years in the English tongue- 
Mr. Petre's The Republic of, Colombia, which con- 



PREFACE xiii 

tains mucK ttiat is of value, and Following the 
Conquistadores : Up the Orinoco and Down the. 
Magdalena, by the Catholic scholar who writes under 
the pseudonym of Dr. H. J. Mozans ; the excep- 
tional opportunities for observation he seems to have 
had, his understanding of the Latin American, his 
extensive reading, intimate knowledge of history, and 
interest in the natural sciences, and the felicity of 
his style Kave produced a book of travel of lunique 
charm. The ground covered by these twos books, 
which 1 are readily accessible, I h&Ve scarcely 
attempted to retrace, but, on the other hand, I h!av^ 
found two continental books of considerable assist-: 
ance in the preparation of this vtolume -La R&publique 
de Colonibie, by the Colombian Consul at Brussels, 
Mr. Henri Jalhay, and Professor. Fritz Regel's 



I am also indebted for occasional assistance Stict 
statistics to a host of friends and Acquaintances, 
public and company officials, merchants, engineers, 
and travellers too numerous to mention. I must 
especially express my thanks to the members of my 
immediate family, and to my cousin, Dr. M:. D. Eder ; 
to Mr. Francisco Escobar, the Consul-General of 
Colombia in this city, 'who has freely thrown open 
to me the resources of his office, and who collaborated 
with me in sending out a questionnaire, to the 719 
alcaldes, or mayors, in Colombia, to whicK we 
received many interesting replies supplementing! the 
special reports which a number of the Departmental 
Governors were kind enough to send me ; and finally 
to Mr. Frank M. Chapman, of tHe American Museum 
of Natural History, who has kept m'e posted gs to the 
explorations of himself and his staff in Colomjbia 1 , 
and who generously placed at my disposal his ex- 
cellent photographs. I am also indebted to Mr. 
Chapmlan for permission to reproduce the map of 
Western Colombia, facing page 208. This will serve 



xiv PREFACE 

in a measure to correct the errors of the general 
map. Unfortunately, there is no thoroughly reliable 
map of the whole country to be had ; the one 
here reproduced is about as good as any ; one or 
two, in some respects better, have been published in 
Colombia, but they were either unsuitable or un- 
available for the present publication. 

PHANOR J. EDER. 
NEW YORK, 
March 30, 1913. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 
PREFACE .*..,. Vii 

CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE. . . I 

Colombia a land of contrasts Situation History of 
geographical exploration Cieza de Leon Juan and 
Ulloa Mutis and Caldas Humboldt Modern geo- 
graphersThe Andes The Sierra Nevada The 
Baudo range The Western Cordillera The Central 
Cordillera The selvas and llanos The Eastern 
Cordillera Vital influence of the mountains. 

CHAPTER II 
CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS . . , *3 

Ojeda's discoveries and Darien colonies Balboa's 
discovery of the Pacific Permanent colonies at Santa 
Marta and Cartagena Quesada's conquest of New 
Granada German expeditions Other conquistadores 
The Spanish colonial system Survival of the Indian 
race Negro slavery The New Granada colony 
Montano Venero Early educational institutions- 
President Borja Sir Francis Drake Pirates and 
buccaneers The Inquisition New Granada a vice- 
royalty Vernon's defeat at Cartagena Paterson and 
the Scots Darien colony Expulsion of the Jesuits 
Enlightened policies under the Bourbons. 

CHAPTER III 
MODERN HISTORY . . .... 31 

Submission to Spanish authority Lope de Aguirre's 
outbreak Uprising of the " Comuneros " Narifio 



xvi CONTENTS 

PAGE 

and the Rights of Man Miranda's expeditions Procla- 
mations of Independence La Patria Boba Morillo's 
pacification Triumph of the patriots under Bolivar 
Santander Opposing theories of Government 
Foreign recognition Secession of Venezuela and 
Ecuador Conservative domination Mosquera and 
the Liberal triumphThe Conservatives regain power 
Revolution of 1899 General Reyes Dr, Restrepo 
President Revolutionism : its causes and cure. 



CHAPTER IV 
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS . . . . -47 

The Panama Congress South America and the 
United States Fear of " Yankee " aggressionsThe 
revolt of Panama and the Panama question Colombia's 
boundary conflicts Navigation dispute with Vene- 
zuela Hostility to Peru Friendliness to Chile, 
Germany, and Japan International claims Diplo- 
matic and Consular service. 

CHAPTER V 
GOVERNMENT AND LAW , ... 57 

Early Constitutions Present Constitution The Exe- 
cutive Power Local Governments Alcaldes 
Statistics of departments Local revenues Economic 
dependence on National Government The President 
and Congress National Assemblies The Judiciary 
Legal procedure Ability of Colombian lawyers 
Legal literature Codes Necessity of penal reform. 

CHAPTER VI 

FINANCES AND BANKING . . . , 72 

Humour of the paper money History of paper 
currency First steps towards reform Junta de 
Amortization The Banco Central Comparative 
stability 'of exchange Improvement of national 
finances Budget National Debt Present status of 
banks Banking statistics Opportunities for foreign 
bankers. 



CONTENTS xvii 



CHAPTER VII 

PAGE 

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION . . . .88 

Backwardness of travel Compensating delights- 
Steamship connections Barranquilla Railway Carta- 
gena Railway Santa Marta line Navigation on the 
Magdalena River Advisable travelling equipment 
Antioquia Railway Amaga Railway La JDorada Rail- 
wayRoutes to the capital The Girardot line The 
Bogota lines Cart and mule roads Puerto Wilches 
project Cticuta and its outlet by Venezuela Travel 
on a champan Roads to the South The Quindio 
road Rough travel Wayside inns Navigation on 
the upper Cauca The Pacific Railway Ports of 
Buenaventura and Tumaco. 



CHAPTER VIII 
ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS . . . . Ill 

Isolation of Colombia's present railways Past 
mistakes The Magdalena not a great shipping 
channel Lack of feeder roads Railroad statistics- 
Government aid essential Necessity of foreign capital 
Probable lines of future rail development Roads 
from the Venezuelan frontier Prolongation of the* 
Cauca line Pan-American Railway investigations 
Other proposed routes Subsidies Government 
ownership. 

CHAPTER IX 
COMMERCE, . . . . .123 

Statistics of Exports and Imports Wholesale and 
retail trade Control of business by foreign commission 
merchants How the coffee trade is financed Other 
exports Trade with the respective countries 
Illiberal treatment of agents Chief requisites for 
expansion of foreign business Obstacles to trade- 
Customs tariff Internal trade Markets, fairs, and 
primitive business methods. 

IA 



xviii CONTENTS 



CHAPTER X 

PAGE 

AGRICULTURE . . - . .138 

Climatic zones Seasons Coast zones Relative im- 
portance of the divers agricultural pursuits Cattle 
Dairying Hides Horses and mules Plantains 
Corn Beans Sugar Panela Coffee Cacao 
Wheat Bananas Cotton Potatoes, yuccas and arra- 
cachas Panama hats Fibres Productions of the 
different departments General outlook. 

CHAPTER XI 
MINES AND FORESTS ..... 158 

Present day activity Salt Emerald mines The 
famous Muzo mines Coal deposits Iron, copper, etc. 
Platinum Gold and silver Statistics of production 
Principal regions Placer and quartz mines of 
Antioquia Mannato and Supia Central and Eastern 
Cordilleras The Pacific littoral The Choco Liber- 
ality of the Mining Laws Public lands Utilization 
of the forests Ivory nuts Immigration. 

CHAPTER XII 
THE COAST REGIONS ..... l8l 

Goajira Peninsula Department of Magdalena Santa 
Marta and the banana trade The Sierra Nevada 
The Ahruaco Indians The Valle Dupar and 
Motilones Department Atlantico Barranquilla 
Cartagena Department of Bolivar Sugar production 
^-The Sinu region San Andres and Providence 
Islands Gulf of Urabd The Choc6-Pacific coast- 
Buenaventura Tumaco The Patia Coast negroes 
Mulattoes. 

CHAPTER XIII 

THE ANDEAN REGIONS (CENTRAL AND WESTERN COR- 

. DILLERAS) . . . . *99 

Complex racial diversities The Antioquefio Depart- 
ment of Antioquia Medellin Department of Caldas 



CONTENTS xix 

PAGE 

The city of Manizales Department of El Valle 
The rich Cauca Valley Departments of Cauca, Narifio 
and Huila Archaeological remains at San' Agustin 
Department of Tolima. 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE ANDEAN REGIONS (THE EASTERN CORDILLERA) . 212 

North Santander and its capital, Cucuta Department 
of Santander Bucaramanga Character of the San- 
tanderenos Department of Boyacd Department of 
Cundinamarca The Sabana of Bogota The National 
Capital Industries Social and intellectual life 
Character of the Indian population Quotation from 
Samper Tequendama Falls Excursions Legend of 
El Dorado. 



CHAPTER XV 
THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 

Vast area of unoccupied lands Scanty geographical 
knowledge Casanare Favourable prospects for stock- 
grazing Adverse climatic conditions Outlook for 
agriculture The llanos not fertile Striking view of 
the llanos Character qf the llanero The Orinoco 
tributaries The Amazon tributaries Rubber gather- 
ing Black waters Explorations of the Putumayo and 
Caqueta by Reyes and Crevaux The Putumayo 
atrocities Possibility of development. 



CHAPTER XVI 
EDUCATION AND THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE . . 248 

Slowness of educational development. Public schools 
Control of education by the clergy Statistics 
Secondary schools Normal schools The universities 
Neglect of the natural sciences Colombian scien- 
tists of eminence Medical schools The practice of 
medicine Journalism Newspapers and reviews 
Literature during colonial times Renaissance at the 
dawn of the Revolution Colombian historians The 



xx CONTENTS 

PAGE 

scholar in politics Caro Camacho Roldan Small 
influence of the drama Fiction " Maria "Cult of 
Poetry Arboleda Pombo Facile versifiers Latent 
literary genius Social service that can be rendered by 
foreigners Promise of rich intellectual future. 

APPENDIX I . . . . . . 271 

Amendments to the Constitution, 1910. 

APPENDIX n ...... 282 

Aboriginal Linguistic Stocks of Colombia. 

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY . , , .289 

INDEX *..,. 302 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



THE QUINDIO ..... 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman, of the American Museum of 
Natural History) 

FACING PAGE 

BRIDGE OVER THE MAGDALENA RIVER BETWEEN GIGANTE 

AND CARNICERIAS ..... 6 
(Courtesy of Dr. Roberto Caycedo, Governor of Huila) 

SANTA MARTA . . . , > . 16 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

HOUSE OF THE INQUISITION . . . .26 

(Courtesy of Mr. Sebastian Pickelman) 

CARTAGENA ...... 38 

SIMON BOLIVAR . . . , . .48 

PRESIDENT RESTREPO AND HIS CABINET, igi2 : . 58 

(i) Sr. Dr. Carlos E. Restrepo, President ; (2) Sr. Dr. Carlos Cuervo 
Marquez, Minister of Public Instruction ; (3) Sr. Dr. Jose Manuel 
Arango, Minister of War; (4) Sr. Dr. Francisco Restrepo Plata, 
Minister of Hacienda ; (5) Sr. Dr. Pedro M. CarreSo, Minister of 
Government ; (6) Sr. Dr. Jose* Ma. Gonzalez Valencia, Minister of 
Foreign Affairs; (7) Sr. Dr. Simon Araujo, Minister of Public 
Works ; (8) Sr. Dr. Carlos N. Resales, Minister of the Treasury. 

* (Courtesy of Sun Life Assurance Company, of Canada) 

ON THE LOWER CAUCA RIVER, DEPARTMENT OF ANTIO- 

QUIA .....* 74 

(Courtesy of Messrs. Breitung & Co., Ltd.) 



xxii ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

BANCO COMERCIAL, BARRANQUILLA , . .84 

BANCO DE COLOMBIA, BOGOTA . , . .84 

TRANSPORTING HEAVY MACHINERY ACROSS THE ANDES . 88 

STREET IN BARRANQUILLA . , . .96 

(Courtesy of Mr. Harry I. SkUton) 

THE PORT OF BARRANQUILLA . * - .96 

(Courtesy of Mr. Harry I. Skllton) 

MAGDALENA RIVER STEAMERS , . 96 

(Courtesy of Mr. Harry I. SkUton) 

QUINDIO ROAD SCENE. IBAGU& IN THE DISTANCE . 106 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

QUINDfo ROAD SCENE, SALENTO . * * . IO6 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

ON THE CAUCA RAILROAD. . . Il8 

PALMS FROM WHICH THE SUAZA (PANAMA) HATS ARE 

MADE . . , . . . .124 

(Courtesy of Dr. Roberto Cayccdo, Governor of Huila) 

MARKET AT BARRANQUILLA . * . 136 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

MARKET AT CARTAGO . . . ^ .136 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

LA MANUELITA SUGAR FACTORY * . . .146 

CACAO AND MADRE DE CACAO TREES . . , 152 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



FACING PAGE 

LA CASCADA QUARTZ MINE, MANIZALES . . . 166 

(Courtesy of Dr. Ramon Jaramillo, R. Governor of Caldas) 

NATIVE PLACER MINERS, SAN NICOLAS . . . l66 

(Courtesy of Messrs. Breitung & Co., Ltd.) 

DRILLERS' CAMP ON THE TARAZA PLACER, ANTIOQUIA . 174 

(Courtesy of Messrs. Breitung & Co., Ltd.) 

NATIVE WOODSMEN AT WORK . 178 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 



CUTTING SUGAR-CANE 



. IQO 



CHOC6 INDIAN ...... 194 

(Photograph by Mr. L. E. Miller, of the American Museum of Natural 
History) 

CHOC6 NEGRO . . . 194 

(Photograph by Mr. L. E. Miller) 

A STREET IN MEDELLIN . 2O2 

COUNTRY HOUSE BALCONY (LA MANUELITA), CAUCA . 204 

VALLEY AND VIEW FROM IT . 204 

(Photographs by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

COFFEE AND RUBBER PLANTATION IN THE HILLS 214 

(Courtesy of Messrs. Alejandro Angel & Co.) 

THE CAPITOL, BOGOTA ..... 22O 

BUILDING A RANCH HOUSE, GUENGUE , . . 230 

(Photograph by Mr. Frank M. Chapman) 

VAQUERO, OR COWBOY ..... 236 



xxiv ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

SO-CALLED STALAGMITES, ANGOSTURA, CARNICERIAS . 244 

(Courtesy of Dr, Roberto Caycedo, Governor of Huila) 

RURAL SCHOOL * e t 250 

A FAVOURITE PASTIME . , 250 

CATHEDRAL AT GARZON, DEPARTMENT OF HUILA . 268 

(Courtesy of Dr. Roberto Caycedo) 

MAPS 

CENTRAL WESTERN COLOMBIA . . . . 208 

(Drawn under the direction of Mr, P. M. Chapman, of the American Museum 
of Natural History, chiefly from maps of Robert Blake White) 

GENERAL MAP OF COLOMBIA . . end of volume. 

(Stanford's Geographical Establishment) 



COLOMBIA 

CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE 

AT the very gates of the Panama Canal lost to her 
by her own short-sightedness and the prompt but 
high-handed energy of the President of the United 
States, Colonel Roosevelt lies a country of lofty 
mountains and snow-capped summits, of fertile, tem- 
perate valleys and plateaux, of riotously tropical 
coasts and lowlands, of extensive natural pastures 
and of thousands of miles of virgin forests ; a 
country rich with promise of vast mineral wealth, 
whose varied climate is capable of nurturing the 
vegetation of every zone, yet which lies fallow for 
lack of highways and railroads ; a country teeming 
with interest to 'the historian and the archaeologist, 
possessing a literature and culture second to none in 
the New World, and whose capital proudly bears 
the title of the " Athens of South America, " yet where 
the mass of the people are illiterate and in whose 
remote forests roam savage tribes who have never 
looked upon the face of the white man in short, a 
country of boundless possibilities and of the strangest 
contrasts. 

This is the Republic of Colombia. 

A century ago, when she cast off the yoke of 
Spain, prophecy, was made of the great achievements 

2 x 



2 COLOMBIA 

for which this favoured land was destined : a thriv- 
ing industrial development would provide employ- 
ment for settlers from the outworn civilizations of 
Europe, and in this new lap of liberty humanity was 
to attain a new and higher civilization. Colombia 
was then the foremost nation of South America ; she 
was to become one of the great Powers of the world. 
These hopes have been shattered ; neglected by 
foreign capital and by, foreign emigrants because of 
political instability, she has seen herself out-distanced 
by many of her sisters, her growth checked by want 
of men and money, and her territory encroached upon 
by foreign aggression. It is this tragedy of history 
revealed in the contrast between actual development, 
on the one hand, and former high hopes and still 
latent possibilities, on the other, that the reader will 
look- upon in these pages. 

In spite of the scepticism 1 engendered by Her past, 
clear-sighted men, with a colder and firmer grasp 
of realities than the form'er prophets, enthusiastic- 
ally assert that Colombia is now entering on a new 
epoch, an era of peace and active development ; 
that her commerce and industries will expand as have 
those of Argentina and Mexico, and that in the second 
century of independent life she will gain that place 
in the family of nations to which her natural 
resources entitle her. 

The Republic of Colombia occupies a' large terri- 
tory in the north-west portion of South America, and 
possesses the unique distinction, among the countries 
of that continent, of being washed by both! the 
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It has a coast -line of 
about 465 miles on the latter and of about 640 miles 
oix the Caribbean Sea. The figures can only be 
given approximately, as the boundary line with 
Panama, like parts of its boundaries with other 
neighbouring nations, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Peru, 
are in dispute. With Brazil alone, on the south-east, 



INTRODUCTION 3 

and that by virtue of a recent treaty, has its boundary 
been determined. 

Before treating more in detail of the various 
sections of the country and dwelling upon the anthro- 
pological results of its physical geography, a brief 
survey of the history of geographical exploration 
will be opportune. 

The early Spanish conquistadores in their eager 
search for wealth, and particularly for El Dorado and 
the country of the Omaguas, and later in colonial 
times the Jesuit and other missionaries overran many 
parts of the land which long after remained un- 
explored, some, in fact, probably never again trod 
by white men. But the early explorers, in general, 
left no scientific records : there is one notable excep- 
tion, however ; Pedro Cieza de Leon, a soldier of 
the earliest days, whose works, besides being an 
invaluable historical source, evince a truly scientific 
mind and contain a wealth of geographical detail to 
which but little amendment need be made even at 
this date. During the colonial epoch, the coasts were 
accurately charted and geographical knowledge must 
have proceeded apace in the interior, although few 
records have survived. In 1736 two scientists of 
the first rank, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, 1 on 
a royal mission (to co-operate with the French 
Academicians who were measuring the equator), 
travelled through the beaten paths of Colombia and 
left scholarly records of their work. 

Later in the same century the noted botanist, Mutis, 
took up his residence in Bogotd and not only himself 
devoted years of arduous labour to natural science, 

T These men were in no way related, but by a curious blunder 
often repeated, the surname Juan has been thought to be the 
Christian name John, and references are often found in English 
works to "the brothers John and Anthony Ulloa." Even Sir 
Clements R Markham once inadvertently fell into this error 
(Winsor's Narrative and Critical History, vol. viii., p. 344). 



4 COLOMBIA 

but gathered around him a number of ardent and 
enthusiastic native disciples, chief among whom was 
Caldas. Mutis died at a ripe age in the midst of his 
labours : Caldas died a martyr to the cause of In- 
dependence, his promising career cut short, in the 
flower of his m'anhood, by the Spanish executioner. 
Neither of these men has received his due meed of 
praise, although they both powerfully advanced the 
cause of science. 

Such was the contemporary fame of Mutis 1 work, 
that Humboldt is said to have visited Bogotd especi- 
ally to view his collections. His valuable papers, 
kept in a Madrid library, not long ago were dis- 
covered to be a resting-place for cats ! Humboldt 's 
voyage to the Equinoctial regions (1799-1803) 
marked the beginning of a new epoch in science and 
was a fitting opening to the nineteenth century, pre- 
eminently the century of scientific attainment. Two 
years were spent in Colombia, and his researches 
and those of his companion Bonpland, in all lines of 
geographical, botanical, zoological, anthropological, 
geological, meteorological, and astronomical investi- 
gations, have, as a whole, never been surpassed. One 
stands aghast at the comprehensiveness of his genius 
and his painstaking indefatigability. His visit stimu- 
lated the scientific ardour of the earnest band of 
Colombian students, and considerable geographical 
work was undertaken by them, but their labours were 
unfortunately cut short by the War for Independence. 
In compensation, the military operations of this war 
entailed a certain measure of geographical know- 
ledge, and, furthermore, there was a great influx of 
foreign travellers when Independence was finally 
gained. 

In modern times it is to foreign enterprise, rather 
than to the Colombians themselves, that we must 
look for exploration, though many of the latter have 
distinguished themselves in such work, notably; 



INTRODUCTION 5 

Mosquera, Codazzi (an Italian by birth, but in the 
Government service) and his companions and 
successors in the Comision Corografica (notably 
Ancizar and Perez), Reyes, Brisson, Vergara, etc., 
members of Boundary Survey Commissions and of 
the Oficina de Longitudes, to-day doing splendid 
work. Of the foreigners, the Germans have been 
in the van : Degenhardt, Sievers, Karsten, Hettner, 
Koch-Grunberg, and above all Reiss and Stubel, are 
especially worthy of mention. Among the French, 
Boussingault, Crevaux, who closely followed Reyes 
after his rediscovery of the Putumayo and descended 
by the Caqueta, Saffray, Andr6, and the brothers 
Reclus are noteworthy ; the English (outside of rail- 
road engineers) are confined almost to Simons and 
Robert Blake .White, the latter of whom lived the 
greater part of his life in Colombia ; the Americans, 
to the Isthmian Canal investigators, prime among 
whom is Selfridge, the Pan-American Railway Com- 
missioners, and, in very recent years, Dr. Hamilton 
Rice. A number of special biological or archaeo- 
logical expedjtipns have of course been sent out, both 
in Colombia and from England, France, Germany, 
and the United States. The American Museum of 
Natural History of New York, under the direction of 
Frank M. Chapman, has at the present time a number 
of men in the field, and is obtaining very important 
results, but there is still a vast amount of work open 
to the geographical explorer and the scientific col- 
lector in a great part of Colombia. The Western 
Cordillera, large portions of the Eastern range, the 
Choc6 and Darien region, and the territory lying be- 
tween the Amazon and Orinoco tributaries are all 
almost virgin fields. 

The most prominent geographical feature of the 
country is the great Andean mountain system, which 1 
is here divided into three ranges or Cordilleras, united 
at the extreme south and known as the Western Cor- 



6 COLOMBIA 

dillera, running near the Pacific, the Central Cor- 
dillera, and the Eastern Cordillera. 

These three ranges form the clue to the river 
system. A number of small rivers, of which the Mira, 
the Dagua, and the San Juan are the chief, rise in 
the Western Cordillera and flow into the Pacific. Be- 
tween the Eastern and Central Cordilleras flows the 
Magdalena, the chief river and commercial highway 
of Colombia. Between the Central and Western Cor- 
dilleras flows the Cauca, an important tributary of 
the Magdalena, which joins it where the Central Cor- 
dillera dies out. Another .important river flowing 
into the Atlantic is the Atrato, and of less conse- 
quence, the Leon, Sinu, and Rio de la Hacha,i To 
the east of the Andes are extensive lowland plains 
through which flow many large rivers, tributaries 
either of the Orinoco or of the royal Amazon. 

It will thus be seen that Colombia presents three 
main divisions for study : first, the coast regions ; 
second, the great Andean land, with its valleys, 
plateaux, and mountains, and third, the low-lying 
eastern territory, subdivided into a northern part of 
llanos or open wild pastures and a southern part of 
impenetrable forests, the selvas, sparsely populated, 
except by savages, and much of it still but imperfectly 
explored. It is in the coast and mountain lands that 
civilized Colombia lives, dwells, and has its being : 
here is the bulk of the population, the seat of govern- 
ment, of learning and of culture, of historical tradition 
and present industrial development. 

In addition to the three Cordilleras mentioned 
there "is in the northern part near the Caribbean Sea 
an interesting range of hills and mountains which is 
geographically independent of the Andes. The 
Andes run north and south : this range, whicK ha,s 
its origin in Venezuela, runs east and west, forming, 
in Colombia, first the hills of the Goajira peninsula 
and then, divided from it by the Rio de la Hacha, 



INTRODUCTION 7 

the great mountain block known as the Sierra Nevada 
of Santa Marta, which gradually ascends till it 
reaches in several peaks the region of perpetual 
snow. Far to the south is a line of low hills, also 
geographically independent of the Andes, of more 
ancient formation and forming the dividing line be- 
tween the Amazon and Orinoco watersheds, which 
vary the monotony of the immense oriental forests 
or selvas, but as to which there is but the scantiest 
information extant. These are known as the sierras 
de Padavida, Tunahi, and Cocuy. Other hills still 
further south are equally unexplored. 

The mountain range which hugs the coast from' the 
mouth of the San Juan river north to the Isthmus 
of Panama, known as the Serrania de Baudo, is 
placed by geographers as belonging not to the Andine 
system proper, but to the same range as the littoral 
mountains on the Caribbean and to the mountains of 
the West Indian Islands ; while the true Western 
Cordillera of the Andes lies a' little to the east anid 
separated from the Baudo mountains by the valleys 
of the Atrato and San Juan Rivers. These rangfes 
offer an almost virgin field to the explorer ; a fefw 
of the principal summits have been scaled, but there 
are vast tracts of unexplored forest still inhabited 
by wild Indians,. 

The almost continual rains on the western or 
Pacific slope of the Western Cordillera cause a rich 
and luxuriant vegetation, while the eastern slope is 
in most places rather arid. At the extreme south, 
near the border of Ecuador, there are two twin 
peaks Chiles (15/680 feet) and Ca/nbal (15,710 feet) 
covered with perpetual snow ; the frontier with 
Ecuador passes through the former, which is notable 
also as forming the connecting link- with the Central 
Cordillera. tWith these exceptions the height of the 
western range is in general between 6,000 feet and 
12,000 feet, being broken, however, by one or two 



8 COLOMBIA 

passes, and especially by the remarkable valley of 
the Patia : this river is notable as the only river 
which has succeeded in forcing its way through the 
Andes to pour its waters into the Pacific Ocean : the 
river itself is at a level above the sea of little more 
than 1,200 feet, while the enormous mountain masses 
on either side of the valley tower thousands of feet? 
above it. 

The Central Cordillera is far the most important 
of the three, forming the very backbone of the 
country. Being easier of access and inhabited for 
centuries, it has been better explored than the 
western. Here no savages are left, and while a few 
Indian tribes have survived in almost pure blood in 
some remote villages, they all unquestionably recog- 
nize Colombian sovereignty and hold commercial in- 
tercourse with the whites. In the southern part, in 
the region of Pasto and Popaydn, agriculture and 
native industry thrive. Pasto and Popaydn, both 
on elevated plateaux, are towns of some importance. 
Both are in the centre of interesting mountain groups, 
belonging to one or the other range. Near Pasto 
there is a notable group of volcanoes and snow-clad 
mountains : near Popaydn are the picturesque 
volcanoes of Purac6 and Sotara perpetually emitting 
smoky clouds from their snowy caps a few leagues 
northward is one of the highest mountains in 
Colombia, Huila (17,700 feet), dominating the smil- 
ing Cauca Valley ; thence north, the dividing ridge 
maintains a fairly constant altitude of about 12,000 
feet, with dense vegetation, on both sides, as here 
clouds furnish constant moisture ; the lower levels, 
bearing many a coffee plantation and grazing field, 
varied by occasional bare patches due to local 
climatic peculiarities, commercially form parts of the 
Cauca and Magdalena Valley regions. There are 
several passes, but through none have roads been 
built north of the pass near Popaydn till we reacfh 



INTRODUCTION 9 

the neighbourhood of the Quindiu : in recent years 
this road has been somewhat shortened by one or 
two trochas or private trails, constructed by indivi- 
dual initiative, but the bulk of travel and traffic be- 
tween the Cauca and the Magdalena Valleys passes 
through the historic 'old Quindiu road, the old Spanish 
highway, which has had hard work in killing its repu- 
tation as a hard road to travel, to-day wholly un- 
deserved. Inconveniences there still are, as almost 
everywhere in Colombia ; dangers there are none 
and the inconveniences are more than compensated 
by the spectacular beauty and variety of the scenery, 
appealing to the lay traveller and of infinite interest 
to the scientist. The mighty Tolima, 1 monarch of 
the Colombian Andes, rising to an elevation of 
18,400 feet, and its companions Ruiz or Herveo 
(18,300 feet) and Santa Isabel (16,700 feet), El 
Quindio and Santa Maria are all dazzling with per- 
petual snow. On the flanks of the Cordillera here- 
about, the industrious sons of Antioquia have spread 
their little plantations, and grouped themselves 
around clean little towns with Oriental or biblical 
names Armenia;, Circasia, Nazareth, etc. 

North of these giants of the Andes, the central 
range widens out to form: the populated, mountainous 
region of Antioquia, noted for its mineral wealth. 
The capital of this department, Medellin, the second 
city of the Republic in importance, at an elevation 
of some 5,000 feet, is the centre of a thriving region, 
in many respects the most important, from a com- 
mercial standpoint, in the country. 

A bit further to the north, the Cordillera terminates 
in a series of foot-hills, not far from Banco, where 
the Cauca River flows into the Magdalena at about 
8 north latitude. 

The Eastern Cordillera also separates itself from 
the general mountain mass near Pasto. Gigantic 
1 The Indian name Tolima means "land of ice." 



10 COLOMBIA 

tributaries of the Amazon and the Orinoco spring 
from its flanks, so that a favourably situated traveller 
on its summits might see to the west the valley of 
the Magdalena, to the east a boundless sea of either 
llano or illimitable Amazon forest. 

The great silent forest which forms the heart o 
the South American Continent extends north in 
Colombia till it reaches a tributary of the Orinoco, 
the Guayabero. This river, in itself of little impor- 
tance at the present time, forms the clearly defined 1 
boundary between the selvas or great wooded area 
of the Amazon rivers to the south and the natural 
pastures or llanos, watered by the Vichada, the more 
important Meta and the Apure to the north. These 
last-named rivers flow from the Andes to the Orinoco, 
and in the rainy season, with their tributaries over- 
flowing their banks, give the llanos, which normally 
are of a resplendent waving green, the appearance 
in many places of a vast lake, with slightly more 
elevated bits of land serving as island oases, whereon, 
according to popular writers of a certain brand of 
fiction retailed as travel-books or geography, men, 
cattle, savage beasts from, 1 the forest and crocodiles 
from the turbulent waters struggle for a precarious 
foothold. In fact, these Itanos are capable of sup- 
porting vast herds of cattle and may some day rival 
the pampas of Argentina. 

The Amazon region, the territory of Caquet, is 
totally undeveloped and but slightly explored, due 
in part to the scanty population of the southern part 
of the eastern range and the absence of roads comi- 
municating from the Magdalena Valley across the 
Cordillera. The llanos of San Martin and Casanare 
are in somewhat closer, though still pitiably infre- 
quent and difficult communication with the rest of 
Colombia* 

But to return to our mountains. The Cordillera; 
Oriental contains many peaks of the first rank, the 



INTRODUCTION 11 

Sierra Nevada de Chita and Cocui (16,800 feet) 
being especially noteworthy for its height and 
grandeur. From Pasto north to the great plateaux 
this eastern part of the Andes maintains an average 
height of more than 7,000 feet. About 3 north 
latitude it broadens out into the great table-land 
or savannah of Bogotd, the most densely populated, 
cultured, and prosperous region of Colombia. Here 
is the capital, Bogotd, and a score of smaller towns 
dot the plateau. Geographers divide the Eastern 
Cordillera into three zones : the tableland of Bogotd 
forms the heart of the central zone, which comprises 
a varied mass of mountain and tableland more than 
150 miles broad and 300 long. The northern zone 
also contains important towns, Bucaramanga, Ocana, 
and near the Venezuelan frontier, Cticuta, all centres 
of coffee-raising regions, and finally dies out in the 
Goajira peninsula, after sending out an important 
fork which forms the mountain system of Venezuela. 
It will be readily seen from the foregoing brief 
sketch of Colombia's topography how varied and 
imposing is its mountain system ; its importance 
can hardly be over-estimated, f From whatever point 
of view we examine Colombia be it scientific, his- 
torical, political, or economical, whether we are in- 
vestigating the habits and customs of its people or 
its trade routes, markets, and industries we find 
the mountains an ever-present, a predominant factor. 
Separating one part of the country from another, 
providing hitherto insuperable obstacles to the build- 
ing of highways and railroads, they have helped to 
breed or to maintain local jealousies, fostered 
internal strife, hindered patriotic efforts for better- 
ment, and in innumerable jways heretofore haVe proved 
an obstacle, for which their mineral wealth and scenic 
grandeur have given scanty compensation^ ' The 
immense impenetrable tropical forests, stiffing with 
heat and reeking in miasma, have been scarcely less 



12 COLOMBIA 

of an impediment. In the course of travel through- 
out Colombia, nevertheless, we see how the skill of 
the engineer is gradually overcoming these obstacles 
and opening ways to the many favoured regions, 
fertile open valleys and plateaux bathed in equable 
climate, which alike form the charm of the interior 
regions of Colombia and furnish the greatest promise 
of a prosperous, happy future. 1 

x The best general geography of Colombia is Regel : Kolumbien 
(Berlin, 1899). The most complete work in Spanish is F. J. Vergara 
Velasco's Nueva Geografia (Bogota*, 1901-2). A useful little com- 
pendimn is Diaz Lemos' school geography (Barcelona, 1909). I& 
English the best is contained in the translation of vol. xviii. of 
Reclus' Geographic Universellc, and in Keanc's South and Central 
America (London, 1909), vol. i, 



CHAPTER II 
CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 

ALTHOUGH Colombia derives its name from 
Columbus, the great admiral was not the first to 
visit its shores. This honour belongs to Alonso de 
Ojeda, who had accompanied Columbus on the 
latter 's second voyage. Ambitious and high-spirited, 
he himself aspired to leadership, and, thanks to 
powerful connections at Court and among the Seville 
merchants, he succeeded in fitting out an expedition 
in 1499 : Juan de la Cosa, who had also been with 
Columbus on the second voyage, accompanied Ojeda 
as chief pilot, and Amerigo Vespucci, destined to 
give his name to the new continent, was also of 
the expedition. After a rapid voyage across the 
Atlantic, Ojedia arrived at the coast of what is now 
Guiana, and continued sailing to parts then still 
unvisited by Columbus : he entered the Gulf of 
Maracaibo, and from a fancied resemblance of the 
houses of the Indians, built up on piles in the water, 
to those of the Italian city, he called the region 
Venezuela, or little Venice. Proceeding still further 
along the coast, he rounded Cape de la Vela, thus 
being the first to touch what is now Colombian 
soil. The condition of his ships prevented further 
advances. This discovery of the Colombian coast on 
the Caribbean was completed in the following year 
by Juan de la Cosa and Rodrigo de Bastidas, in 
whose employ, the former now was. Ojeda later 

13 



14 COLOMBIA 

made several unsuccessful voyages, reducing his for- 
tunes to a low ebb. Finally, however, King Ferdi- 
nand decided to found colonies on the coast of Tierra 
Firme, and Ojeda's friends put forward his claims : 
he was awarded a grant of the country from the 
Gulf of Urabd to the Cape de la Vela, under the 
name of Nueva Andalucia, while the region west 
and then north from the Gulf known as "Castilla 
de Oro " (Golden Castile) and comprising Panama 
and Central America was awarded to Diego de 
Nicuesa, an accomplished courtier of excellent 
connections.. 

Ojeda arrived at the harbour of Cartagena towards 
the end of 1509, intending to found a colony. He 
met a stout resistance from the Indians, who were 
neither abashed by the reading of the stately and 
formal proclamation, wnerein he called upon them, 
in the name of the Pope and the Catholic King of 
Castile, to embrace Christianity and serve and obey 
the King, nor intimidated by the dire threats with 
which the proclamation wound up. 

Among those who fell under the poisoned arrows 
of the Indians was the loyal veteran Juan de la Cosa, 
and Ojeda himself escaped in a manner little less than 
miraculous. The timely arrival of Nicuesa, who 
chivalrously forgave past grievances and lent assist- 
ance, enabled a 'due vengeance to be wreaked on the 
Indians ; but, realizing the difficulties of a colony 
at this place, Ojeda now resolved to follow the course 
advised by Juan de la Cosa, and settle at the Gulf 
of Urabi. There at a place which he called San 
Sebastian he founded his little colony : the hostility 
of the Indians kept the Spaniards entrenched within 
their fortress :. hunger and disease supervened, their 
ranks were thinned, factions arose, expected aid from 
Santo Domingp failed .to arrive, so Ojeda, with a 
small band, set .sail for reinforcements, leaving the 
colony in comjnand .of Francisco Pizarro. Ojeda's 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 15 

misfortunes redoubled : shipwrecked on the desolate 
coast of Cuba, the little band, through marshes, 
swamps, and morasses, pursued its painful way along 
the coast until finally, succoured by charitable Indians, 
with whose aid he arrived at Jamaica and then passed 
on to Santo Domingo, "a needy man, shipwrecked 
in hope and fortune/' and " sank into the obscurity 
which gathers round a ruined man, and died poor and 
broken in spirit." * 

The aid that Ojeda had expected from Santo 
Domingo was from his friend and business associate 
in' the enterprise, the bachelor Martin Fernandez de 
Enciso, who set sail, only to encounter at Cartagena 
the remnants of the colony which had been compelled 
to abandon San Sebastian, Nothing daunted, Enciso 
proceeded to that place, gaining a fruitless victory 
over Indians in the region of the Sinu River en route. 
A similar series of misfortunes to those which had 
befallen Ojeda induced him to remove to the River 
Darien or Atrato, where he conquered a prosperous 
Indian village and established his seat .of, govern- 
ment under the name of Santa Maria la Antigua 
de Darien ; but mutiny was rife ; a poor scape- 
grace of an adventurer, who had boarded Enciso's 
ship as a stowaway, gained the ascendancy. This 
was Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the discoverer of the 
Pacific Ocean (1513). The story of the discovery 
of the Pacific is too well known to need recounting 
here : how Balboa, fearing royal vengeance for past 
misdeeds, resolved upon making a bold play for 
pardon by penetrating to the vast Southern Sea, of 
which he had heard report among the Indians ; how 
his intrepid band, chosen from the boldest of his fol- 
lowers, attended by some friendly Indians, braved the 
dangers pf the forests and of savagje tribes, and struck 
across the Isthmus of Darien ; and how after great 
hardships he was rewarded, alone upon the summit of 
1 Washington Irving : The Companions of Columbus, 



16 COLOMBIA 

a high mountain, with 1 the glorious spectacle of the 
boundless ocean. 

This discovery opened up a new era of con- 
quest, leading the way to the rich kingdom of 
the Incas. 

Upon the arrival of the news in Spain, Hundreds of 
enthusiastic cavaliers flocked to join the expedition 
under command of Pedro Arias Davila, who had been 
appointed Governor of Darien, and to whom was 
entrusted the promising enterprise of conquering the 
countries of whose vast wealth Balboa had heard ; 
but Pedrarias, to give him the name by which he is 
best known, did little worthy of note except per- 
petrate atrocities which made his name a synonym 
for cruelty. He soon evinced jealousy of Balboa 
jealousy which grew to violent animosity and finally 
to the cruel execution of that brave spirit, on an 
unfounded charge of treason. 

Other adventurers gained more honourable renown 
than Pedrarias. Andagoya sailed along the Pacific 
coast in 1522 as far south as Buenaventura, the 
port of good fortune ; but the great prize, the rich 
country of the South Seas, whose fame had tempted 
Balboa, fell to one of the sturdy band that had 
accompanied him Francisco Pizarro. 

So far the Spaniards had not succeeded in estab- 
lishing any permanent settlements or making any 
noteworthy conquests in the interior of Colombia. 
With the founding; of Santa Marta under Bastidas in 
1525, an; abiding foothold was gained by the 
Spaniards : Cartagena, still on the coast, soon 
followed (1533). In a few years these towns gained 
much importance, so much so that by 1536 the 
Spaniards, fired by the reports of a rich king;dom 
in the interior, the home of "El Dorado," iajid 
encouraged by the ease with which Pizarro had over- 
come the Peruvians, made their way up tHe 
Magdalena River. A numerous expedition set forth 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 17 

under command of Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, 
a native, or at least a resident, of Granada ; obstacle 
after obstacle was overcome ; several boats were 
shipwrecked at the very; start : famine and fevers 
decimated the troop ; hostile Indians unrelentingly 
killed and wounded man after man. While part of the 
expedition went up in boats, the remainder painfully 
followed on the shore, through swamps and through 
forests scarcely more passable than the interminable 
morasses themselves ; but the intrepid Quesada 
goaded on the fagged spirit of his men, sending the 
weakest back to the coast, till, utterly exhausted and 
as a last hope, he sent forward a reconnoitring, expe- 
dition far from the river banks along the mountains 
of the Sierra Opon : these men, after days of painful 
march, encountered paths through the forest and 
signs of comparative civilization. Thus encouraged, 
Quesada's troop marched on : himself attacked by 
fever, and deserted without resources of any kind on 
a deathbed, only his own indomitable will pulled him 
through, to rejoin his faltering men and lead them 
to the densely populated and rich kingdom of the 
Chibchas. The Chibdha Indians occupied the health- 
ful tableland or sabana of Bogotd ; here they had 
attained a civilization, inferior indeed to that of the 
Aztecs and the Incas, but which struck the Spaniards 
with surprise after their long wanderings through 
savage wilds and rugged mountains : agriculture and 
trade flourished ; closely built towns and villages 
with habitations and temples of no mean architecture 
dotted the plateau ; a well -developed religion, reflect- 
ing a high veneration for the powers of nature, helped 
to hold the thousands of Indians together under 
organized governments : moreover, gold and silver 
jewels and ornaments most skilfully worked were 
abundant in short, before their eyes Quesada's men 
had the coveted prize for which they h s ad risked SQ 
much. 

3 



18 COLOMBIA 

The terror caused by their firearms, their strange 
appearance, their armour, their dogs, and their horses, 
gained the Spaniards their first victories ; though 
valiant resistance was soon offered, it was met by 
still more valiant and doughty feats of arms. The 
internal dissensions of the Indians, wars between the 
Chibchas and their less civilized but more warlike 
neighbours, were skilfully taken advantage of by 
Quesada : he pitted one against the other, and the 
conquest of the kingdom of the Chibchas was soon an 
accomplished fact the handful of men had again 
achieved the impossible and repeated the exploits 
of Cortes and of Pizarro. The new region Quesada 
named, in honour of his native land, the Nuevo 
Reino de Granada New Kingdom of Granada and 
the city which he proceeded with due formality to 
establish he called Santa F6 de Bogotd, The founda- 
tion of the city was carried on with the utmost 
solemnity : Quesada marched thrice around the new 
city at the head of his men, and then solemnly pro- 
claimed it a city dedicated to the service of the 
King (1538). 

Strange reports of white men, Spaniards, approach- 
ing from the east and from the south well-nigh 
brought dismay to the newly established city : these 
intruders proved to be the troops of Federmann and 
Benalcazar. One of the most remarkable coinci- 
dences in history had brought these three conquerors, 
Quesada, Federmann, and Benalcazar, together, each, 
unknown to the others, starting hundreds, nay thou- 
sands, of miles from the others, marching for months 
and years through unexplored regions, to meet in 
the heart of this new land ! Benalcazar was a lieu- 
tenant of Pizarro ; after conquering the kingdom 
of t Q u ft> he had continued his triumphant march 
north through Pasto, Popayin, and the rich valley 
of the Cauca and across the Andes. Federmann 
is one of the leading figures of the German occupa- 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 19 

tion of Venezuela : l the Emperor Charles V, heavily, 
indebted to the merchant princes Welz or Welser, had 
granted that country, to. connections of theirs, the 
Ehingers, who assigned the grant to the JWfelsers. 
Starting from Maracaibo, expeditions under George 
Hohermuth of Spires, known to the Spaniards as 
Jorge Spira, and Ehinger (Dalfinger) had explored 
much of the north-eastern part of the present 
Colombia. Fedennann continuing further a few years 
later, after a journey extending over three years, 
arrived at the home of the Chibchas, with but 
1 60 men left of his original 400. 

An armed conflict for supremacy between these 
three conquistador -es was narrowly, averted : the more 
mercenary German was bought off, while Benalcazar 
and Quesada decided to set forth together for Spain 
to lay their respective claims before the King, leaving 
the government of the new kingdom in the hands of 
Quesada's brother, Hernan Perez de Quesada. 

The subsequent history of these men, and the 
struggles of the budding colony, the further con- 
quests over the Indians, the stubborn resistance of 
certain tribes, notably the Panches, the Pijaos, and 
the Muzos, as portrayed by the early writers, and the 
expeditions of other famous conquistadares through- 
out Colombia Robledo, Cesar, Badillo, von Hutten, 
Pedro de Ursua are full of romantic interest ; but 
these fascinating chronicles, though perhaps more 
interesting, are less important than the political 
development and economic history of the colony. 

It is impossible in a few words to span the history 

1 For this interesting phase see especially Klunzinger: Antheil 
des Deutschen an der Andeckung von Bud Amerika (Stuttgart, 1857) ; 
Schumacker : Die Unternehmungen der Augsburger Welser in Vene- 
zuela (Hamburg, 1892); Topf : DeutscheStatthalterundKonquistadoren 
in Venezuela (Hamburg, 1893) ; Haebler : Uberseeiscken Unterneh- 
mungen der Welser (Leipzig, 1903) ; Humbert : L occupation Allemand 
du Venezuela (Bordeaux, 1905). 



20 COLOMBIA 

of two centuries of colonial life, with various 
modifications continually, being introduced, some pro- 
gressive, some retrograde, without indulging in the 
broadest generalizations and leaving aside qualifica- 
tions and exceptions that would be obvious upon a 
closer study. This book is not the place to attempt 
a detailed examination, especially as the Spanish 
colonial system has been carefully and critically, ex- 
amined by many competent authorities. But some 
idea of th^e colonial regime is necessary for an under- 
standing of the present-day Colombia. 

The administration of the colony of New Granada, 
the mode of life of its inhabitants, Spaniards, Creoles, 
negroes, and Indians, their education and religion, 
the methods and growth of trade and industry, did 
not differ essentially from those of the other Spanish 
colonies of the New World. A few local peculiarities 
crop up here and there : the names that fill the 
offices and play a r61e in their respective histories 
vary. New Granada's situation, however, combined 
with the restrictive commercial .policy of Spain, 
gave it a certain historical importance which it would 
not intrinsically have possessed. Its rich coast towns 
offered a more tempting bait to hostile navies, as well 
as to pirates and buccaneers : trade for the entire 
continent of South America was concentrated by the 
Spanish system of restrictive fleets at Panama, Porto - 
bello, and Cartagena ; on its eastern llanos, watered 
by the Orinoco River and its tributaries, missions 
sprang up on a scale rivalled only in Paraguay : as 
a mining country it was second only to Peru and 
Mexico ; as an agricultural colony it was perhaps 
unsurpassed. 

iWith exceptions of the class noted, however, the 
history of New Granada, with but a change of names 
and places, might be the history of almost any other 
Spanish colony in America. As has been justly 
observed by a learned German historian, Professoi 
Konrad Haebler : 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 21 

*- From the position whicK the Spanish colonies 
held in relation to the mother country, it naturally 
follows that they, possessed no independent history. 
Their history, comprised the change of officials, the 
incidental alterations in their administrative organiza- 
tion, and the regulations for the furtherance of the 
economic interests instituted far more for the benefit 
of Spain than for, that of the colonies. It was owing 
to Spain's dependence on them that they became in- 
volved in all the political complications of the mother 
country. The history, of all that the colonies had 
to suffer as part of the Spanish kingdom at the 
hands of Spain's opponents is the nearest approach 
to a general history of the colonial empire." I 

The administration and trade of these colonies 
from the beginning centred in Spain, and the same 
policy was pursued for all. In nearly every one 
we find almost the same story the gradual conquest 
and total subjugation of the Indians, except in remote 
regions ; the introduction of negro slaves ; at first 
a period of badly organized government, with a 
bewildering confusion of authority among consejos, 
audiencias, fiscales, visitadores, jaeces de residencia, 
succeeded by a period of more centralized authority 
under a president, captain-general, or viceroy, but 
still with an infinity of red tape and appeals to 
superior officials in Spain, and effective jurisdiction 

1 Vol. i., p. 414, Helmolf s History of the World (New York, 1902). 
For the analysis of the Spanish colonial system here presented I 
am indebted mainly to Haebler, to Professor Bernard Moses* The 
Establishment of Spanish Rule in America, and to the chapters on 
that subject in Baring's Buccaneers in the West Indies, Reseller's 
Kolonien (tr. by Bourne, N.Y., 1904), and Hirsfs Argentina (South 
American Series). For the particular history of the New Granada 
colony I have mainly followed Plaza, whose book, as well as that of 
Acosta, would well merit translation. Sir Clement R. Markham's 
The Conquest of New Granada (London and New York, 1912), just 
published, is the first attempt to present the English reader with a 
history of that subject. 



22 COLOMBIA 

" petering out " in the sparsely settled hinterland ; 
conflicts, on the one hand, between the civil and 
ecclesiastical authorities, and on the other petty 
jealousies between Creoles and Spaniards ; the in- 
sistence upon false, but then universally believed, 
economic doctrines as to the necessity of hoarding 
the precious metals ; restrictions on commerce, with 
the inevitable corollary contraband trade, often con- 
nived at by the colonial officials themselves, which 
bred a certain disregard for law and authority that 
has left its fatal consequences to this day ; the blight 
and stagnation caused by a fanatical and powerful 
Church ; a lack of roads and bridges and public 
improvements in general, and a dearth of educational 
facilities, except those grudgingly afforded by the 
clergy, but shortly before the Independence, under 
the Bourbon kings, the prevalence of a somewhat 
more liberal and enlightened policy. 

The main principle of the Spanish colonial rtgitn^ 
at least in the first century or two, from which most 
of its distinctive features sprang, was that the colonies 
were the personal appanage and exclusive private 
property, of the crown. The marked characteristics 
resulting from this doctrine may be briefly sum- 
marized as follows : i. The concentration of all 
political administration and commercial privileges in 
appointees or licensees of the crown. 2. The strict 
control over admission to the colonies. 3. The con- 
centration of trade at a very few ports in Spain, 
at first, at Seville alone ; the institution of the fleets 
and galleons for carrying on the trade exclusively 
(with resulting high prices and contraband). 4. A 
protective attitude tpwards the Indians, resulting, in 
laudable contrast to their destruction in the English 
colonies in America, in the preservation of these 
wards of the State, and, to a considerable extent, 
their assimilation. 

It is this last feature that constitutes the one great 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 23 

virtue of the Spanish colonial system ; while, it is 
true, actual practice did not always come up to the 
high ideals of justice and fair dealing entertained by 
the Catholic * kings, and the colonists often com- 
mitted acts of cruelty (greatly exaggerated by most 
historians, however) towards the heathen, especially 
in the working of the mines, where hundreds met 
their death, nevertheless, the fact that the Indian 
race has here in South America survived as nowhere 
else, proves the merit of the Spanish treatment, while 
the force of the Spanish character is shown by the 
fact that such civilization as exists throughout the 
Spanish part of Latin America is essentially a Spanish 
civilization : languages, customs, education, religion, 
administration, are all Spanish, and that no matter 
whether the predominating element among the popu- 
lation be European, African, or Indian. 

The protective attitude towards the Indians was 
the cause of the introduction of negro slaves : Las 
Casas, with his narrow philanthropic ideas, recom- 
mended their importation on a large scale as a 
means of freeing his own pet proteges from 
oppression. The colonies were greatly in need of 
labour which the Europeans either could not or would 
not supply ; the negroes throve in the congenial 
climate of the tropics, and as the supply produced by 
the "- Asiento," the contract for the monopoly of the 
slave trade, was insufficient to meet the demand, a 
lucrative smuggling trade, by foreign shipowners, 
soon grew up in the community. 

The individual history of the New Granada colony 
needs but few words. As commonly known or 
written, it contains little of importance apart from 
the general Spanish colonial regime of which we 
have just spoken. The vital part the inevitable 
change in the character of the population, due to 
the influence of climate, etc., and cross-breeding, and 
the evolution of its savage tribes has been ignored, 



24 COLOMBIA 

and consequently still presents an open field for the 
ethnologist and scientific historian. 

As already mentioned, the first decades after the 
conquest were passed under a bewildering confusion 
of authority, civil and ecclesiastical. Official after 
official was not merely tried, but suspended by the 
special judges, called faeces de residencia, sent from 
abroad as investigators, and often invested with 
administrative functions as well. One of the most 
notorious of these jueces de residencia was the visi- 
tad or Montano, who came to Bogot in 1552. Auto- 
cratic and revengeful, he initiated a period of black 
terror, and his avarice led him to pillage Indians 
and Spaniards alike. He, too, was residenciado, sent 
prisoner to Spain, condemned to death, and paid the 
penalty for his crimes^ 

The lamentable state of the colony's public affairs 
finally caused the crown to appoint a President of 
the Royal Chancellery, with the office of Governor 
and Captain-General of New Granada, absolutely 
independent of the viceroys of Peru and endowed 
with correspondingly large powers. Fortunately a 
good choice was made for this delicate post, in the 
person of Dr. Andres Diaz Venero de Leiva, a 
laborious official, prudent but firm, well educated and 
experienced in affairs, who arrived at Cartagena in 
1563 and reached Bogptd the following year. His 
first measures were to lighten the burdens of the 
Indians, literally as well as figuratively, for among 
other reforms it was prohibited to use them as 
carriers : tribes were collected into towns, lands 
given them to cultivate as their own, under the name 
of resguardos, interpreters settled among them, 
schools and churches opened to teach them the ele- 
ments of religion and the Spanish language, reading 
and writing, and a special oidor, or public attorney, 
was appointed to protect their rights. Venero also 
inaugurated various public improvements, pro- 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 25 

mulgated ordinances for the better working of the 
mines, sent a commissioner to examine the famous 
emerald deposits of Muzo, and even gave the first 
impulse towards higher education by forwarding a 
petition for a university. It was not till the middle 
of the next century, however, that any advance was 
made in this direction, and then two universities, so 
called, were founded, one, St. Thomas, under the 
charge of the Dominicans, and the other, San Xavier, 
under the Jesuits. Even more important than these 
was the college of Nuestra Senora del Rosario 
(1653), which, in addition to the mediaeval philo- 
sophy, taught law and medicine, " a first ray of light, 
dim as it was, in a dark atmosphere." 

Another of the early governors worthy of honour- 
able mention, in contrast to the run of avaricious 
officials whose main desire was to extort wealth 
enough to reimburse themselves for the price which 
they had generally paid for their offices, was the 
President Borja, who died in 1628, after maintain- 
ing peace and order during the twenty-two years of 
his incumbency. 

The cities on the coast had a more troubled exist- 
ence : they lived in constant dread of marauders 
from the sea. Santa Marta and Rio Hacha were 
sacked time and time again, while Cartagena and 
Portobello were ever coveted prizes. Sir Francis 
Drake, more than any other seaman of his day, 
inspired terror throughout the Spanish domain. In 
1586 occurred his famous sack of Cartagena, where, 
in addition to all the booty, he obtained 110,000 
ducats ransom under a threat to fire the town. Exe- 
crated as a bloody pirate and devilish monster by 
the Spaniards, he, too, has received his vindication 
at the hands of history, and his true place, as a 
discoverer and not a marauder, has been assigned 
to him. 1 It was in the next century, however, especi- 

* See Lady Elliott Drake's The Family and Heirs of Sir Francis 
Drake (London, 1911). 



26 COLOMBIA 

ally after the French settlement of Hispaniola and 
the capture of Jamaica by the English, that priva- 
teers, buccaneers, and seamen frankly turned pirates, 
flourished in the West Indies, again and again 
attacking the towns of the Spanish Main. Their 
exploits teem with striking adventures a veritable 
riot of blood and booty, greed and glory, which has 
furnished many a thrilling page for romancers, poets, 
and historians. 1 Their culminating exploits were the 
daring march of Sir Henry Morgan and his men 
across the isthmus to the capture of Panama (1688) 
and the participation of the buccaneers in the French 
attack and capture of Cartagena under Pointis in 
1697, a fitting ending to the history of these bold 
bands, who, having served their ends, were thereafter 
suppressed by the French and English Governments. 
The easy victory obtained at Cartagena is partly 
explainable by the decay of the power of the civil 
and military authorities under the dominance of the 
officers of the Tribunal of the Inquisition, which had 
been established at the beginning of the century and 
rapidly grew to power. The sacking of the city 
proved a blessing in disguise, for with it began the 
decline of the much hated Tribunal. 3 

In 1718 New Granada was erected into a vice- 

* The most valuable modern work on the buccaneers is C. H. 
Haring : The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the Seventeenth Century 
(London and N.Y., 1910), with an exhaustive bibliography. tje 
omits, however, the South American historians, among whom may 
be mentioned Vicente Restrepo : Invasiones de los bucaneros en el 
siglo XVII, 1884. Acosta de Samper : Los Piratas en Cartagena 
(Bogota^ 1886) ; Melville : Piratas que infestaron la America delSur, 
etc. (1567-1763), (Santiago, Chile, 1876), and one or two rare Spanish 
items (see Medina's Biblioteca, Nos. 724, 741). 

fl For the history of the Inquisition at Cartagena, see J. Toribio 
Medina : Hist, del Tribunal de la Inquisicion de Cartagena (Santiago, 
Chile, 1899), and H. C. Lea : The Inquisition in the Spanish Depen- 
dencies (London and N.Y., '1908), Petre's on dit that there were 
400,000 victims is a rank absurdity, 




HOUSE OF THE INQUISITION. 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 27 

royalty, for a few? years only. In 1740, however, a 
Viceroy was again appointed, and the colony re- 
mained under this form of government until its 
independence. It had now gained a tolerable degree 
of material prosperity : European live stock and 
plants had been introduced in the earliest days, and 
agriculture had now attained a fairly high develop- 
ment. Cacao, tobacco, and hides, as well as the 
products of the forest, such as the balsam of Tolu 
and the still more famous Peruvian or Jesuits' bark, 
quinine, were exported in considerable quantities. 
But the principal industry was mining. New 
Granada was, during the century of which we are 
speaking, the chief gold-producing country of the 
Spanish domain, if not of the world. 

And so the eighteenth century moved peacefully, 
sluggishly along. 

One event stands out as of particular interest to 
the English the ill-fated attempt of Admiral Vernon 
against Cartagena in 1741. His large naval force 
and an equally imposing army under General Went- 
worth arrived with the confident expectations of an 
easy victory over the town that had fallen a prey 
to Drake and the French. The city was assailed 
for several weeks ; frustrated in their designs, the 
British forces were finally compelled to retire, and 
so ended the last attempt of the English to gain a 
foothold in this corner of South America. A pre- 
vious attempt, of equally melancholy interest to the 
British historian, had been the Scots Colony estab- 
lished in 1698 by the brilliant William Paterson, 
founder of the Bank of England. His was a mag- 
nificent, far-sighted, and fore-sighted scheme. Had 
his plans been followed, " Darien might have been 
to Britain another India/' Instead, the ill-suited 
settlers from the cold and sterile North not only 
met with the greatest hardships on the inhospitable 
shores, of Darien, but the bitterest political feeling 



28 COLOMBIA 

arid the most violent antagonism between Scotch and 
English was evoked at home. To protect the colony, 
over which the whole kingdom of Scotland had gone 
mad, the Scotch desired, the English declined, a war 
with Spain. A company had been formed under 
an Act of the Scottish Parliament, and five vessels 
with more than a thousand emigrants set sail, land- 
ing at Puerto Escoces on Caledonia Baythe names 
survive to this day, melancholy reminders of a 
glorious dream. The small remnant of the colony 
that had alone been spared by the tropical fevers 
offered but slight resistance to a Spanish expedition 
sent to frustrate Paterson's ambitious designs to 
capture for Scotland the rich South Sea trade arid 
the wealth of both the Indies. 1 

1 The contemporary literature of the Scots Colony and Vernon's 
expedition was most abundant, and the subjects have not been 
neglected since. Among other books, see 

For the Scots Colony : Macaulay : History of England, ch. xxiv. 
("brilliant account," but "incorrect and misleading"); Burton's 
History of Scotland, vol. viii,, ch. 84) ; Life of W. Paterson, by S. 
Banister (Edinburgh, 1858) ; Paterson's Works, ed. by S. Banister 
(London, 1859) J A Short Account from \Darien (Edinburgh, 1699) ; 
A Defence of the Scots Settlement at Darien (Edinburgh, 1699) ; A Just 
and Modest Vindication of the Scots Design (1699) ; A Defence of the 
Scots abdicating Darien (1700) ; Certain Propositions Relating to the 
Scots Plantation (Glasgow, 1700) ; An Inquiry into the Cause of the 
Miscarriage of the Scots Colony (Glasgow, 1700) ; James Huston's 
Works. Francis Borland : Memoirs of Darien (ist ed., Glasgow, 
1715, anon., reprinted under title The History of Darien, Glasgow, 
1779 ; London, 1753) ; Barbour : History of William Paterson and of 
the Darien Colony (London, 1807) ; Sir Walter Scott : Tales of A 
Grandfather ; Cullen : Isthmus of Darien Ship Canal, with a History 
of the Scotch Colony (2nd ed., 1853) ; B. Taylor in 19 Scot. Rev., 54 ; 
H. Bingham in 3 Scot. Hist. Rev., 210, 316, 437; J. H. Burton : Darien 
Papers (1849) ; Sir John Dalrymple : Memoirs, vol. i. 

For Vernon's attach on Cartagena ; A Geographical and Historical 
Description of the Principal Objects of the Present War, viz., Cartagena* 
etc. (London, 1741) ; The Conduct of Admiral Vernon Examined and 
Vindicated (1741) ; An Account of the Expedition to Cartagena (1743); 
Authentic Papers Relating to the Expedition, etc. (1^44) ; Journals of 
the Expedition, etc. (1744) ; Original Papers relating to the JExpe- 



CONQUEST AND COLONIAL DAYS 29 

The defeat of Vernon had proved the efficiency 
and justified the cost of the massive fortifications 
at Cartagena, had given the inhabitants of New 
Granada and their governors renewed self-con- 
fidence, and once again left the country free for 
the development of its internal affairs. Under a 
somewhat more enlightened government, a fair 
measure of progress was achieved in the second half 
of the century : the restrictions on commerce were 
relaxed ; roads and bridges were built, and carriers, 
on foot, on horseback, or in canoes, carried the mails 
with regularity and with really surprising speed, 1 
considering the difficulties they had to contend 
against ; there was a notable improvement in the 
civil service ; above all, education and intellectual 
light began to filter in the sciences w&re taught ; 
in 1791 a weekly periodical saw the light in Bogotd, 
and a botanical survey under the direction of Dr. 
Jos6 Celestino Mutis grouped around that eminent 
naturalist a number of enthusiastic young disciples 
who displayed keen intellectual activities in many 
directions. The ground was being prepared for the 
spread of liberal ideas, which were to result in 
throwing off the Spanish yoke. 

Whether the expulsion of the Jesuits from the 
Spanish domains (1767) was due to the liberal ideas 

dition (1744) ; A Letter to the Hon. Edward Vernon, from John 
Cathcart (1744) ; Smollett's Works, ed. by W. <E. Henley (1898) ; 
Expedition to Carthagena, also Roderick Random ; W. F. Vernon : 
Memoirs of Admiral Vernon (London, 1861) ; C. W. Hall : Carfhagena 
or the Lost Brigade (Boston, 1898) ; W. Clark in 93 Harper's Mag., 
p. 753 (1896) ; Proc, Mass. Hist. Soc., March, 1881 ; Douglas Ford : 
Admiral Vernon and the Navy (1907) ; Nieto : Geografia Historica de 
Cartagena (Cart., 1839) ; Diario de todo lo occurrido en . . . Carta- 
gena (Madrid, 1741 ; reprinted in Tres Tratados de America, Madrid, 
1894) ; French version, Journal du Siege de Carthagene (Paris, 1741). 
1 Although offered horses, the Imdian carriers often declined, 
saying " The horses get tired, but we do not." Pando, Ytinerario de 
Correos (MSS. circa 1780 in N.Y. Publ. Lib.). 



30 COLOMBIA 

of the King or to other grounds is somewhat 
doubtful : the immediate causes for this in many 
respects mistaken action have remained obscure. 
One thing is certain the wealth of the Jesuits had 
increased enormously. Not only had they brought 
thousands of Indians under their government at the 
missions, but throughout New Granada they owned 
much of the richest agricultural and pastoral land. 
At the missions they were doubtless rendering a 
measure of useful service in civilizing the Indians, 
who led in socialistic communities lives of almost 
idyllic content and goodwill, though sapped of all 
mental power and vigour of character, in childlike 
dependence upon the good fathers ; but in the 
civilized regions of the colony no less certainly were 
their vast holdings in mortmain a hindrance to 
even material development. The Jesuits soon had 
their revenge : their secret part in the movement 
against Spain has been shown by recent investi- 
gations to have been of great importance. 

The expulsion of the Jesuits and the adoption of 
the new commercial code are the only striking events 
of the close of the colonial epoch. The imposition 
of certain additional taxes, by way of fiscal reform, 
aroused opposition which led to armed revolt ; but 
although no attempt was then made to throw off! 
Spanish allegiance, nor, in fact, till thirty years later, 
yet this popular uprising of 1781 has a certain con- 
nection with the movement for independence to 
which it formed a prelude, and therefore more 
properly belongs to the epoch of the Revolution. 



CHAPTER III 
MODERN HISTORY 

THE utter lack of means of communication between 
the isolated and scantily inhabited communities of 
the colony would have made any concerted move- 
ment for independence utterly impossible during the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries even had daring 
brains ever dreamed of such an idea. A quiet, law- 
abiding submission to Spanish authority, smuggling 
apart, was characteristic of the colonial history, refut- 
ing the theory, occasionally put forward to explain 
the frequency of South American revolutions, that 
there is an inherent tendency in the people to political 
strife and lawlessness. After the subjugation of the 
Indians there was a long period of unbroken 
tranquillity. 

An adventurer of ill-repute, Uope de Aguirre, had, 
it is true, as early as the sixteenth century, run 
amuck in Venezuela and the llanos of Colombia, and 
uft open revolt proclaimed the intention of freeing 
the colony from the oppressive yoke of crown and 
clergy. He has come down in history as a blood- 
thirsty, probably insane, villain ; but perhaps he 
should be credited as a revolutionary centuries ahead 
of his epoch and a forerunner of Miranda and 
Bolivar. 

From the time of Aguirre's outbreak there was 
no revolt of any kind among the Spanish settlers 
in New Granada until 1781. In that year occurred 



32 COLOMBIA 

the uprising of the Comuneros of Socorro and other 
towns, aroused by obnoxious fiscal measures and en- 
couraged by exaggerated reports of Tupuc -Amaru's 
successes in Peru. This was in no way a movement 
for independence, but was of importance as show- 
ing how easily the populace, if aroused, could gain 
the upper hand over the Spanish authorities : by 
treachery alone were the Comuneros overcome. 
Their revolt gave food for thought a few years 
later to a few intellectual progressives, whose secret 
ardour for liberty was inflamed by the slow but 
steady spread, even in the remote American colonies, 
of the principles of human freedom and equality as 
expounded by the French Revolution and in the 
United States. The Paris Convention's Declaration 
of the Rights of Man was translated and circulated 
by a brilliant youth of Bogotd, Antonio Narino 
a dire offence which caused his arrest, dispatch to 
Spain, and imprisonment, but which has given him 
immortal fame in Colombia under the title of tha 
Precursor. 

Another enthusiast, who had fought under 
Washington and had made his mark in the French 
armies, Francisco de Miranda, 1 obtained private aid 
in England and the United States, after failing to, 
gain the support of either Government for his plans, 



1 For Miranda, see L Bi SS s ] History of . . . Miranda's Attempt, 
Boston, 1808 (several editions in following years) ; Minutes of 
the Court Martial . . . of Sir Home Popham (London, 1807) ; 
[Sherman] General Account of Miranda's Expedition (N.Y,, 1808) ; 
Lloyd : >The Trials of . . . Smith and Ogden (N.Y., 1807) ; Ante- 
para : South American Emancipation (London, 1810)- (written by 
Miranda, Antepara merely lending his name) ; Moses Smith : History 
of the Adventures and Sufferings of (Brooklyn, 1812, Albany, 1814) ; 
Leben und Schicksale des Gen. Miranda (1807) ; Buchez et Roux : 
Histoire parlementaire, xxvii., 26-70 (his trial in France for treason) ; 
Marques de Rojas : El General Miranda (Paris, 1884) ; A. Rojas : 
Miranda dans la Revolution Francaise (Caracas, 1889) ; Becerra : 
Ensayo historico documentado de la vida de Miranda, 2 vols. (1896) ; 
and articles in Mundlal (Paris, 1912). 



MODERN HISTORY 33 

and led a small expedition in 1806 to free Vene,- 
zuela : foredoomed to failure, the ending was 
miserable ; many of his followers were captured, 
some cruelly put to death. 

The cry for independence was in swing, "but 
only among the liberal few : there was no popular 
demand, nor were the people ripe for self-govern- 
ment. A concerted movement was still well-nigh im- 
possible among such widely scattered communities, 
and the first steps were the isolated actions of town 
councils. Independence would have been indefinitely 
delayed had there been a stable Government in the 
mother country herself, but when a crisis came in 
the internal political affairs of Spain, when Napoleon 
ousted the King and installed in his place his own 
brother Joseph, one tQwn council or junta after 
another in the colonies proclaimed its independence, 
though declaring itself still loyal to Ferdinand VII. 

There was more, however, than mere opposition 
and antipathy to French rule back of the revolt of 
the town councils : the Creoles, the permanent inhabi- 
tants ol Spanish descent, had always felt jealous of 
the Spaniards sent to fill colonial offices and their 
adherents. The statement frequently made by super- 
ficial writers that the natives were excluded from 
participation in the public administration is not true ; 
to, the very highest offices they were not appointed, 
but the greater number of subordinate official posts 
were frequently filled by them. Nevertheless, they 
constantly felt they were not being given their fair 
share. The opportunity was now at hand for the 
Creoles to gain the ascendancy over the Spaniards, 
contemptuously called chapetones. It was grasped. 

Pf the acts of independence, that of Bogotd, the 
seat of the Viceroy, was the most consequential. The 
struggle for freedom in New Granada may tye said 
to have had its definite beginning on the 2oth day 
of July, 1 8 10, when the junta at the capital, called 



34 COLOMBIA 

together by the insistence of the populace '(aroused 
by a trivial incident between a Creole and a, 
Spaniard), and after an all-night session, backed up 
by a mob of six or seven thousand patriots assembled 
throughout the night in the public square, declared 
the supreme government of New Granada transferred 
from the Spanish authorities to themselves as repre- 
senting the Sovereignty of the People, and further 
resolved that a call for the election of deputies from 
the several provinces be sent out to join the junta 
in adopting a constitution for a federation of free 
and independent sovereign states. The otherwise 
startlingly revolutionary character of this declara- 
tion was tempered by a reservation of loyalty to 
King Ferdinand & reservation soon cast to the 
winds by the ambitious leaders of the new ideas. 
Not all the provinces responded to the call sent 
out by the Bogotd junta. Many, like Cartagena:, 
in their local pride, preferred their own undisturbed 
sway : a few, like Pasto, under the domination of 
a fanatical clergy, stubbornly remained loyal to the 
Spanish authorities. The remnants of ultra -marine 
rule could have been readily extinguished, but there 
was unhappily initiated a period, bordering on 
anarchy, of impotent civil strife, aptly dubbed by 
Colombian historians " la patria boba " " foolish " 
in that, neglecting the opportunity to cement the 
foundations of the nation against the inevitable future 
attempt of Spain to regain her power, the country's 
energies were misspent in civil life. Simon Bolivar 
soon came to the front among the patriots, having 
gained some important victories over the royalists, but 
he, too, was drawn into the whirl of internecine war. 
1815 arrived. Napoleon fell. Spain, freed from 
dread of invasion, prepared to " pacify " that is to 
say, to overwhelm her revolted colonies. A large 
army of veterans arrived from the Peninsula under 
command of General Pablo Morillq and 1 reconquered 



MODERN HISTORY 35 

Venezuela and New Granada ; the severest measures 
of repression were resorted to ; hundreds and 
thousands were executed, exiled, impressed into the 
royalist ranks, or left to suffer or die in prison. 

Here and there in Colombia and Venezuela the 
revolutionists held firm' ; the brave llaneros, the most 
picturesque and romantic of the patriots, with their 
ingenious guerrilla warfare, were ndt readily sub- 
dued : in the Orinoco delta, a mulatto, General 
Piar, maintained a stronghold, and in other scattered 
places the hopes of the battlers for liberty were kept 
alive. Aid was sought abroad, and the disbanded 
armies of Europe supplied adventurers ready to 
enlist. English and Irish soldiers especially flocked 
to join Bolivar, the only leader who could succeed in 
uniting the conflicting elements among the revolu- 
tionists, and in whom all hope soon blecame centred. 
In 1819 he accomplished his most striking achieve- 
ment. Suddenly crossing the inundated llanos during 
the rainy season and passing over the paramos of the 
Andes, despite cold and hunger, he fell upon the 
advance-guards of the surprised royalists, effected 
a union with Santander, and utterly routed 1 the 
Spaniards at the decisive battle of Boyacd (August 7, 
1819). This was the turning point of the war. 
Three days later Bolivar entered BogotA', and the 
independence of New Granada was assured 1 . The 
Liberator then entered upon his glorious campaigns 
in Venezuela and the countries to the south, to wrest 
half a continent from the Spanish! yoke and share 
with San Martin the supreme honours of the 
independence of South America. 1 

* Professor Hiram Bingham, of Yale University, has written a study 
of the battle of Boyacd and the route of Bolivar's army in Journal 
of an Expedition across Venezuela and Columbia, 1906-1907 (New 
Haven, 1909). 

The best history of the Revolution, although written in a partisan 
spirit, is still the Historia de la Revolution de Colombia, by Jose 
Manual Restrepo, Bolivar's secretary (Paris, 1827 ; Besangon, 1858,) 



36 COLOMBIA 

The patriot Congress was in session at Angostura 
when news came to it of the victory of Boyaca and 
Bolivar's entry into Bogotd. Its previous attitude 
of censure naturally was turned into the most 
enthusiastic praise ; the title of Libertador was con- 
In English, perhaps the best account is to be found in Mitre's The 
Emancipation of South America, condensed tr. by W. Pilling 
(London, 1893). The most valuable recent contribution in English 
is Petre's Life of Bolivar (London and N.Y., 1911). Among impor- 
tant books not mentioned in Petre's bibliography or recently pub- 
lished dealing with Bolivar or the war in Colombia, are : Coleccion de 
documentos relatives a la vida publica del libertador (Caracas, 1826- 
33) ; Calvo : Annales Historiques de la revolution de TAmerique 
latine (Paris, 1864-75) [also in Spanish] ; Blanco y Azpurua : 
Documentos para la historia de la vida publica del libertador (Caracas, 
1875-7) (14 vols. were published) ; Captain W. T. Adams : Journal 
of Voyages to Margaritta (Dublin, 1824) ; [F. Hall] Present State of 
Colombia (London, 1827) ; W. B. Stevenson : Twenty Years' Resi- 
dence in South America (London, 1825, 1828) [also Fr. and Germ, 
trans.] j Recollections of a Service of Three Yean in Venez. and Colombia, 
by an Officer of the Colombian Navy (London, 1828) ; Documentos 
para servir a la historia de la conspiracion del 25 de Setiembre, 1828 
(Bogota, 1829) ; Proceso seguidoal general Santander (Bogota, 1831) ; 
Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela and New Grenada , 1817-1830 
(London, 1831) ; Kottenkampf : Der unabhangigkeitskampf der Sp. 
Am. colonien (Stuttgart, 1838) ; Mosquera, T. C. de : Vida del /ifer- 
tad0r(N.Y., 1853) ; Perez, Felipe : Anales de la Revoluci6n (Bogot&, 
1863) ; id. : Biografia deZea (Bogota, 1873) ; Lacroix : Raciocinos del 
libertador (Paris, 1869) ; id. : Diario de Bucaramanga ; Espinosa, 
J. M. : Memorias de un abandonerado (Bogota, 1876) ; de Rojas : 
Simon Bolivar (Madrid, 1883) ; Samper, J. M. : El Libertador (Buenos 
Aires, 1884) ; Castanos y Monti jano : Paginas olvidadas . . . narra- 
cidn de la guerra separatista de America (Toledo, 1891) ; Biblioteca de 
Historia Nacional (Bogota, v.d.) ; Becker : " La Independencia de 
America" (in Espana Moderna, 1908, vols. 229, 231, 232); Rodri- 
guez Villa : Morillo : Estudio biografico documentado (Madrid, 1909- 
10) ; Urrutia : El Ideal Politico del libertador (Bogota, 1911) ; Jules 
Mancini : Bolivar et I Emancipation des colonies espagnoles (Paris, 
1912) ; Luis A. Cuervo : Bolivar intimo (Bogota, 1912) ; Villanueva : 
Bolivar y San Martin (Paris, 1912). See also the bibliographies in 
Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of America, The Cambridge 
Modern History, and Paxson : The Independence of the South 
American Republics (Phila., 1903). 



MODERN HISTORY 37 

ferred upon Bolivar, and the assembly became readily, 
pliant to his will. His projects for a union between 
Venezuela and New Granada were adopted, the 
Republic of Colombia organized and himself elected 
President. The territory of the republic was divided 
into three departments, corresponding to the present 
countries of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, with 
capitals respectively at Bogota, Caracas, and Quito, 
each department in charge of a vice-president. 

The Vice-President at Bogotd was Francisco de 
Paula Santander, who was left at the helm whilst 
Bolivar pursued his military campaigns. Santander, 
who continued to be the dominant figure in 
Colombian politics until his death in 1840, was of 
the best type of public men South America has 
produced. Well versed in politics and jurisprudence, 
he was a constructive statesman who relied upon 
law, not force, for the maintenance of government, 
amply earning the title that has been bestowed on 
him, el hombre de las leyes'- the man of law." He 
was ever a sincere patriot, subordinating his personal 
ambition to his country's welfare, and his public 
record has but few stains. One of these was his 
tacit approval of the conspiracy against Bolivar, 1 
upon the latter's reassuming dictatorial power in 
Colombia; on this occasion (September 25, 1828) 
the Liberator narrowly saved his life, being aided by 
his mistress in making his escape from a window 
in the palace. Another blot on Santander's career 
was his unduly revengeful treatment, unmindful of his 
own former pardon, of conspirators against himself 
a few years later. Apart from these acts, his life 
is a signal example of courageous devotion, in the 
face of great obstacles, to lofty principles. 

Santander stood against Bolivar as the foremost 
supporter of a federal form of government a con- 
1 Some historians deny that Santander participated at all in the 
conspiracy. Petre STUBS up the evidence. 



38 COLOMBIA 

federation of sovereign States. Bolivar was in favour 
of a strongly centralized government, and was, in 
fact, suspected of harbouring monarchical tendencies. 
It is indisputable that at one time he did desire a life 
tenure as dictator, under the belief that his own strong 
hand was essential to the development of the nation. 

The Angostura assembly had convoked a general 
Congress for the new republic to meet at Rosario 
del Ciicuta on January i, 1821. After consider- 
able delay in organizing, work was at last got under 
way ; a Constitution was framed, largely along the 
lines of Bolivar's ideas, and a number of laws of 
prime importance passed. The Inquisition was 
abolished, the emancipation of the slaves begun, 
religious toleration enacted, the administration and 
judiciary organized. It was while the Congress was 
in session that the battle of Carabobo (June 24, 
1821) was won, assuring the sway of the republic 
in Venezuela. Cartagena and other lingering strong- 
holds of the Spaniards were conquered, and soon 
after these successes came recognition of the 
independence of Colombia by foreign Powers, the 
United States being the first. The diplomacy of 
Canning, leading up. to the Monroe doctrine, assured 
the permanency of the hard-earned independence. 
The struggle continued in the south, in Peru and 
Bolivia, but Colombia was free from fear .qf Spanish 
aggression. 

La Gran Colombia was not destined to long life. 
Within a very few years it split up into the com- 
ponent partsColombia, Venezuela, and . Ecuador 
which since have retained their distinctive nation- 
alities. The reunion of these countries under one 
flag has ever been a pious wish and a fruitful theme 
for orators and essayists, but with little prospect 
of practical realization. In addressing the Congress 
at Cticuta, Zea, the Vice-President, in Ms inaugural 
address, said : 



MODERN HISTORY 39 

" United, neither the empire of the Assyrians, the 
Medes or the Persians, the Macedonian or the 
Roman Empire can ever be compared with this 
colossal republic ; but none of the three departments 
of Venezuela, Cundinamarca, or Quito can in the 
course of a century become by itself alone a stable 
and respectable nation. 1 ' 

However fantastic his words as to the glory 
awaiting the union, his prophecy as to the fate of 
the shattered members has been too well fulfilled. 
The llanero General Paez was the leader of the 
separatist party in Venezuela, and by 1830 he had 
definitely gained his ends, and the Republic of 
Venezuela had been declared ; Ecuador followed 
suit. The Peruvians, too, not content with casting 
off the yoke of the ambitious Bolivar, had declared 
war a year previously against Colombia, but were 
decisively defeated by, Sucre at the battle of Tarqui 
(1829). A certain rankling remains to this day; 
whenever, as has frequently happened, boundary ques- 
tions between Colombia and Peru stir up a crisis and 
threaten armed conflict, this old ?var is remembered. 

The year following the split with Venezuela and 
Ecuador, the very name Colombia was abandoned : 
the provinces which continued to recognize the 
Bogotd Government were now called the " Re- 
public of New Granada,/' Santander being elected 
President under a new conservative Constitution 
adopted in 1831, although h himself is deemed 
the founder of the Liberal party. A period com- 
paratively free from 'disturbance continued 1 until 1858 
under the centralized Government, strengthened by 
a still more conservative Constitution piassed in 1843. 
The country's Presidents were nearly all men of 
ability, energy, and patriotism. Of these the most 
striking figure was General Tomas Cipriano de 
Mosquera (1845-9) the most remarkable man in 
Colombian history after Bolivar and Santander. 



40 COLOMBIA 

Scion of a noble family, which claims descent from 
Charlemagne and kinship with the Empress Eugenie, 
he was one of four brothers, all of whom attained 
distinction. Soldier, statesman, author, scientist, his 
energy was no less remarkable than his versatility ; i 
he served with distinction in the struggle against 
Spain, and displayed great military skill in the civil 
wars : he wrote a biography of Bolivar and 1 several 
geographical works ; and he is the man of the 
century who did most for the country's development, 
fostering science, education, and a host of public 
improvements, and maintaining the country's credit 
and finances on a relatively sound footing. 

Mosquera, originally a tolerant Conservative, later 
became and remained the chief of the Liberal party. 
As such he led a successful revolution, becoming 
President in 1863, under a new Constitution adopted 
by the victors at Rio Negro. To emphasize the 
federal system of government, now warmly espoused 
(steps towards it had already been taken in 1858) 
and carried to absurd extremes, this fundamental 
law renamed the nation '- the United! States of 
Colombia," which appellation was retained 1 until 
1886, when the present title of the Republic of 
Colombia was assumed. 

The Liberal domination continued for a, score of 
years, but was troubled by frequent uprisings, 
generally instigated by the clergy, who, it must be 
admitted, were persecuted to a fanatical extreme. 
One revolution (1876-7), of short duration but 
sanguinary, though unsuccessful, initiated a period 

1 His character and career bear many striking resemblances to 
those of Colonel Roosevelt, both energetic, versatile, popular, though 
intensely hated by their enemies, egotistic, dominating, violent of 
temper and outspoken in utterance, but the North American suffers 
by comparison with the South American in point of mental capacity 
and originality and sincerity. To point a moral : Mosquera in 1867 
assumed dictatorial powers, but by a military coup ditat> executed 
by his own friends, was ousted and exiled. 



MODERN HISTORY 41 

of transformation. Dr. Rafael Nunez, elected 
President by the less intransigeant wing of his party, 
gradually went over to the Conservative side. After 
his election to a second term, not consecutive^ the 
government came completely into the hands of the 
Conservatives* The Liberals provoked a revolu- 
tion (1885-6), the suppression of which planted their 
opponents so firmly in power that a new Constitu- 
tion, the one now in force., abolishing the sovereignty 
of the states, centralizing power, and! recognizing 
the Church, was framed. 

The presidential term was fixed at six years. In 
1892, Nunez was re-elected, but did not exercise 
the duties of office ; now feeble in health, he retired 
to Cartagena, and several Vice- Presidents in suc- 
cession, of whom the most notable was Dr. Miguel 
Antonio Caro, were the active heads of the Govern- 
ment. The Conservative party was, however, splitting 
up into factions, and it is probable that the Liberals 
would have gradually but peaceably- regained con- 
trol ; abuses, however, which they deemed intoler- 
able, made them impatient, and soon after the election 
of Sanclemente, civil war, under the leadership of 
another remarkably able and versatile man, General 
Rafael Uribe-Uribe, broke out (1899). Sanclemente 
was old and feeble ; ousted from power by a faction 
of his own party, he was virtually kept a prisoner 
at his country residence until his death. The Vice- 
President Marroquin vigorously waged war against 
the Liberals, and finally triumphed. The struggle 
was of long duration ; peace was not officially re- 
established till 1903. Colombia has not yet wholly 
recovered from the ravages of the war ; in addition 
to th,e loss of life and property, the country became 
burdened with an inflated paper currency, an incubus 
of which it is not yet rid, its credit abroad was im|- 
paired, and the revolution was indirectly the cause 
of the loss of Panama. 



42 COLOMBIA 

General Rafael Reyes, who had attained distinction 
as an explorer and power as the chief of the Govern- 
ment forces during the revolution of 1885, was 
elected to succeeid Marroquin, the hopes of the 
country being centred on him. Ever since his 
abdication in 1910, there has been bitter criti- 
cism in Colombia of Reyes, but the future his- 
torian, free from!. ..the bias of partisanship, will 
undoubtedly recognize much good in his five years' 
administration. Reyes dild much to re-establish the 
exhausted nation's credit abroad, procured the 
development of roads and railroads with both foreign 
and domestic capital, kept order, allowed 1 business 
a chance to grow, and maintained on the whole an 
enlightened public policy. Reyes, however, like 
Bolivar before him, believed that Colombia could 
only be set on a permanently firm footing by; a strong, 
almost dictatorial, hand : Diaz of Mexico, a close 
personal friend, was his ideal \ but Reyes is a man 
at once to.o humane and too enlightened to carry 
out such ruthless measures as established Diaz on 
a virtual throne. Nor are the Colombian people so 
subservient : public opinion finally rose to a high 
pitch against alleged " dictatorship " ; Reyes gave 
away before it and left the country. In due course 
and by regular process of law, the present incumbent, 
Dr. Carlos E. Restrepo, was elected President, and 
has provided a most creditable administration. 

The last ten peaceful years of Colombia's history 
are of good augury. 

The main subjects of political controversy during 
the nation's life, it will have been noted, have been 
the struggle between opposing theories of Govern- 
ment, federation versus centralization, and the atti- 
tude to be adopted by the Government towards the 
Church. All sorts of questions, many of them not 
intrinsically political at all, have been collaterally in- 
volved, and the very names adopted by, the parties 



MODERN HISTORY 43 

Liberal, Conservative have tended to a grouping 
of other subsidiary ideas under the main ones. The 
Liberals, for instance, by the very force of their name, 
have tended to herald themselves as the sole pro- 
tectors of individual rights and liberties, of freedom 
of speech and of the Press : adherents, consequently, 
of civil marriage and of divorce : opponents, in the 
early days, of slavery ; to-day, now that is a dead 
issue, of capital punishment. The Conservatives, up- 
holders of an established State Church the Catholic, 
of course and of the control by that Church of 
education, have been wont to brand their opponents 
as godless and irreligious, as enemies of the home 
and of the Church charges wholly unfounded against 
the rank and file, though naturally free-thinkers and 
Radicals would be more apt to gather under the 
banner of the Liberal party. Party feeling has often 
risen to the most bitter pitch. Fierce hatred has 
shown itself during some revolutions notably those 
of 1859 and 1876 almost to the point of savagery. 
Revivals of this bitter partisan spirit are occasionally 
seen to-day, but on the whole a milder, more tolerant, 
and juster spirit prevails ; progress has undoubtedly 
been made, and the leaders of all parties do unite, 
not infrequently, for the common good. iWhile it 
would be rash to predict that revolutions are over 
of what country in the world with seething economic 
problems to face could that be said? it can be 
with assurance stated that the days of chronic 
political instability in Colombia are irrevocably gone. 
Revolutions caused by mere desire of the " outs " 
to become the " ins," or by the ambitions of indi- 
vidual chiefs, are no longer possible ; revolutions, 
if any, unhappily are to come, will be as a sole means 
of correcting grave abuses or defending fundamental 
rights, and as public opinion has become a definite 
power witness the termination of the Keyes 
regime it is unlikely that conditions will come to 



44 COLOMBIA 

such a pass as to justify or require an appeal to the 
last resort. The long duration of the last revolu- 
tion (1899-1903), the woeful destruction it caused, 
and the enduring evils it entailed, have taught the 
Colombians a lesson not soon to be forgotten, and 
before a new generation assumes control Colombia 
will, it is believed, have attained such material 
development, with its concomitant advantages, that 
tranquillity may be looked forward to with as much 
assurance as in Chile and Argentina or England and 
the United States. Petty uprisings will, of course, 
occur. They may be branded, both at home and 
abroad, as " revolutions," but they will be trivial 
in character, less of a menace, and less destructive 
than a coal strike or a railroad strike in Great Britain 
or the States. 

I must correct a misconception that the reader may 
possibly have formed, or been confirmed in, by my 
use just now of the term " chronic political insta- 
bility." Colombia has never in all its history for a 
long period of time been in such a condition as that 
which has devastated some other Spanish American 
countries ; there has been, however, chronic fear of 
revolution, with all its paralysis. There is much 
misconception as to the number of real revolutions 
in its history, ; only twice has the " legitimate " 
succession to the Presidency been upset a record 
unequalled by any other Spanish American country 
with the single exception of Chile. In other words, 
successful revolutions have been rare : the established 
Government has nearly always succeeded either in 
suppressing armed revolt or in securing a working 
compromise. But this past tendency to revolution 
is worthy of study. The subject cannot be dismissed 
with the contemptuous generalities that the average 
Englishman or American is apt to bestow- There 
has been no one cause for revolutionism ; no general 
formulae, sometimes put forward, as to inherent 



MODERN HISTORY 45 

lawlessness, incompatibility of races, unfitness for 
self-government fostered by; the Spanish colonial 
system, etc., will fit the case. Inherent lawless- 
ness we have shown at the beginning of this chapter 
to be false racial antagonisms have played but a 
very small part : the unripeness for self-government 
at the birth of the nation has been a contributory 
cause ; but the truer causes have been manifold. 
Go below the surface, and in Colombia as in 
other nations economic necessities of various kinds 
and the human surge upwards to higher levels of life, 
material and intellectual, will be found consciously 
or subconsciously at work. The Irish " We don't 
know what we want, but, b'egorrah, we're bound 
to get it " is not as unreasonable as it may sound : 
so the ignorant Colombian peon or Indian impressed 
into a revolutionary army, and his superficially edu- 
cated, restlessly excitable, nervous colonel or general, 
have been the instruments of an upward progression. 
The unrest has been justified. There has been some- 
thing rotten in the State vast rich lands lying waste ; 
the lower classes neglected ; material necessities, 
though unfelt because unknown, high standards of 
food, clothing, and shelter, wanting ; education nil ; 
the politico often choosing;, politics, and incidentally 
revolution, as the only means of livelihood, having 
been taught no other, ; even religious cravings often 
unsatisfied ; higher intellectual life denied all these 
have been contributory causes. By reason of lack 
of education of the masses, and for the classes a 
misdirected education unpractical and. often super- 
ficial there has not been learned perseverance and 
patience to correct through orderly processes of 
government. Add sectional feeling, the regionism 
inherited from Spain undissolved because of lack 
of facile intercommunication and the pot is ready 
to boiL 

The cure, therefore, for revolutionism is obvious : 



46 COLOMBIA 

material prosperity and education. It is now at 
work. With foreign capital and foreign immigration, 
material prosperity will come speedily : without them, 
or either of them, the day of salvation will be 
delayed. Immigration is needed, not so much 
because there is any. real scarcity in the ranks 
of labour, but for education : foreign workers, 
especially if simpatico, can better teach the Colom- 
bians, who! are ready pupils, to be workers. 
Improved sanitary conditions will come with the ex- 
penditure of money, and with the consequent abolition 
of malaria, anaemia, etc., many misnamed cases of 
laziness will disappear. Wealth and education hand 
in hand will lead Colombia from the brink of the 
chasm to the highroad of peace and order.. 



.CHAPTER IV 
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS 

COLOMBIA'S diplomatic history has had two import- 
ant phases one of fleeting glory at the beginning 
of her life as an independent nation, one of impotent 
humiliation, in recent times, at the hknds of a 
stronger Power. Some knowledge of these is neces- 
sary if one is to attain a sympathetic understanding 
of the present-day mind of her thinking population. 

For a brief moment, when Bolivar Was the fore- 
most leader in South America, Colombia held a 
position of prestige throughout the continent. The 
Liberator then conceived the idea of a closer political 
union among the American nations, and with that 
end in view convoked the first Pan-American Con- 
gress. This met at Panama in 1826 ; nothing was 
accomplished, but the ideas then advanced and 
debated have borne fruit. 

In 1889 James G. Elaine, then Secretary of State, 
realizing the tremendous importance to the United 
States of its relations to the Spanish American 
countries, revivified Bolivar's project, and organized 
the second of those Pan-American Conferences, 
which have since convened with frequency and 
regularity. The policy of the United States Foreign 
Office has been to promote closer relations with the 
Latin American countries, for the twofold purpose 
of fostering its own trade and commerce and of 
preserving the supremacy of its own power in the 



48 COLOMBIA 

New World by confining the European nations to 
their present colonies. It has systematically instilled 
the doctrine of Pan -Americanism sincerely, no 
doubt, in spite of assertions to the contrary. Never- 
theless, there has grown up a feeling] in many 
Spanish American quarters that Pan -Americanism 
seen through Yankee eyes means, not " America 
for the Americans," but " America for the North 
Americans." As a consequence, the ideas sought 
to be developed by Bolivar at the Panama Con- 
gress have been kept alive, but driven to a different 
goal. The main object of that remarkable gathering 
was to form a defensive alliance against Spain, and 
that was why, in spite of popular enthusiasm, opposi- 
tion was developed in the United States, mindful of its 
traditional rule against entangling alliances, to partici- 
pating in the Congress. To-day an alliance among 
the Spanish American countries is again agitated, no 
longer against Spain or any other European Power, 
but against the United States, the '* Colossus of the 
North." Fear of Yankee aggression, of Yankee 
invasion and conquest, is a dominant note in this 
movement ; and it is because Colombia, of all the 
Spanish American countries, is the one most affected 
with this fear, that I have deemed it necessary to 
introduce the subject briefly in these pages. A' 
discussion of the larger questions arising from the 
relations of the United States to the Spanish 
American countries in general, and, in particular, 
of the Monroe doctrine and its recently expounded 
corollaries, of the international aspects of the Panama 
Canal,i of the position of the United States in the 
Caribbean, and of intervention, while tempting, would 
lead us too far afield. I shall accordingly confine 
my remarks strictly to Colombia. 

Even in this enlightened age every nation seems 

1 See the admirable study by Harmodio Arias, Esq. : The Panama 
Canal (London, 1911). 




7' 



SIMON BOLIVAR. 



To face p. 48. 



DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS 49 

to have a bugaboo of an impending foreign enemy 
England, Germany ; the United States, Japan ; and 
so forth. So Colombians dread a Yankee attempt 
sooner or later to oyerpower South America, and 
believe their land to be the outpost which will be 
first attacked. They have already felt the talon 
of the Eagle ; they have a hysterical dread that the 
voracious bird will again swoop down upon their 
country. Hysterical is the only word'. Suspicion 
of the designs of the American Government is carried 
to absurd limits : innocent provisions for coaling 
rights in a proposed treaty, or steps by American 
companies to acquire tracts of land for timber or 
mining in certain sections, or purely commercial 
railroad or banking projects, are misconstrued to be 
an opening wedge ; even prospecting American 
engineers have been suspected of being secret spies. 
And the Americans have only themselves to 
blame ! Ever since the annexation of Texas and 
the Mexican War there has been a certain latent 
fear of Yankee aggression among the Latin American 
peoples, and a certain dislike of the Gringoes. The 
events of 1903, the ruthless seizure by President 
Roosevelt of the coveted Panama Canal strip, and 
Colombia's humiliation at having her protests and 
demands for redress ignored, have carried this fear 
and this dislike to a high pitch. 

There is nothing new that can be said on the 
subject ; but in spite of the lapse of so many years, 
the unsettled " Panama question " is still a burning 
one in Colombia. This must be my justification for 
repeating what to many a reader must be an oft- 
told tale, for nothing else has brought Colombia so 
much into the public light. 

The Spanish-American War redoubled the eager- 
ness, and spurred the diplomatic efforts of the United 
States for an interoceanic canal. After long-pro- 
tracted negotiations a treaty was entered into in 

5 



50 COLOMBIA 

Washington between John Hay, Secretary of State, 
and the Colombian charg6 d'affaires, Tomas Herran, 
by which the United States was to acquire the right 
to build the canal across the Isthmus of Panama. 

The treaty was ratified by the United States 
Senate, and then needed only confirmation by the 
Colombian Congress. Considerable opposition to it 
was, however, aroused, and it was finally rejected, 
this result being contributed to by certain tactless 
threats conveyed in a still more tactless manner by 
the American charg< d'affaires in Bogotd. This 
opposition was lamentably shortsighted, but for the 
most part sincere and honest, and the rejection of 
the treaty, even if not the duty of the Senate under 
the Constitution, was incontrovertibly within its leg;al 
rights under any aspect of international law. 

A revolution, as was expected, broke out soon 
after in Panama, fostered largely by foreigners, con- 
spicuous among whom were the representatives of 
the French Canal Company arid its subsidiary, the 
Panama Railroad Company. The connivance of the 
United States Government has been charged, but 
although there were suspicious circumstances, the 
charge has not been absolutely proven. Panama 
proclaimed its independence on November 3, 1903. 
Colombia was prevented by United States marines 
and by the express declarations of President 
Roosevelt's Government from making any attempt 
at suppressing the revolution and maintaining the 
revolted province in her allegiance* A few days 
later the United States recognized the independence 
of the new republic, received Philippe Bunau-Varila, 
a Frenchman, the leading advocate for years of the 
Panama route and one of the chief instigators of 
the revolution, as minister plenipotentiary, and on 
November i8th signed a treaty with him acquiring 
the canal zone and the right to build the canal. The 



DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS 51 

of the French Panama Canal Company for the 
transfer of its rights was then consummated. 

Colombia protested, and has repeatedly protested, 
but in vain. The violation of the treaty of 1846, 
whereby the United States guaranteed the sovereignty 
of New Granada over the Isthmus of Panama, the 
flouting of the ordinary rules of international law 
in recognizing the independence of Panama within 
a few days of its declaration, the prevention by 
American marines of all attempts on the part of the 
Colombian Government to reassert its authority, were 
affronts of a nature which could not have been dared 
against a strong nation. Colombia, a weak Power, 
had not alone to submit, but was forced to see its 
humiliation increased by a peremptory refusal to 
treat with its envoys or to submit the pending 
questions to arbitration. 

The United States has been almost blind to the 
disastrous consequences to itself, both political and 
commercial, of the act of gross injustice that was 
committed, and of the policy of indifference it has 
since pursued. It is not Colombia alone that has 
been affected ; the shock of the taking of Panama 
was felt throughout Spanish America : a quiver of 
indignation ran through the Southern continent, 
causing spasmodic outbursts of anti-American feeling 
which have proved detrimental to the best commercial 
interests of the United States and favourable to 
European trade, and! which have hampered American 
diplomacy. As we have seen, there is a well- 
defined movement throughout South America looking 
towards a union for protection against the United 
States. 

But such a movement seems impracticable, and is 
impeded by local dissensions and by the jealousy 
of the sister nations. Unfriendly relations with' 
adjoining States are the rule rather than the excep- 
tion. So far as Colombia is concerned, her troubles 



52 COLOMBIA 

with her neighbours are chiefly due to boundary 
conflicts, of which the most troublesome at the 
present time is that with Peru. 

These boundary questions date back to the time 
of the Independence. It was comparatively simple 
at that time for the nations to agree that the principle 
of the Uti possidetis of 1810 should serve as the 
solution to determine frontiers that the territorial 
limits of the independent nations should be those of 
the Spanish colonies which preceded them. The 
principle, embodied in many of the Constitutions 
and recognized in South American diplomacy, was 
easy to formulate. Its application was difficult in 
the extreme. The boundaries of the Spanish colonies 
had never been laid down with precision : the grants 
from the crown were often vague : conflicts of 
jurisdiction had been frequent : the vast inland 
regions were almost wholly unknown, and their 
geography often conjectural. And for one reason 
and another these boundary questions have dragged 
on, unsettled, for a century. 

The arbitral award of the King of Spain, rendered 
in 1891, should have settled the boundary dispute 
with Venezuela, but it has not been put into execu- 
tion, and minor disputes have arisen as to its 
interpretation. Moreover, the problem has been 
complicated by the restrictions placed by Venezuela 
against Colombian trade on the navigable rivers 
of the 'Orinoco and Lake Maracaibo watersheds. 
The questions are still pending, a thorn in the flesh. 
During the supremacy of Castro in Venezuela a 
solution seemed well-nigh impossible, but at the 
present time both Governments are showing a better 
spirit, and an early determination can be looked 
forward to. 

With Peru the outlook is not so favourable. The 
contending nations have never been able to agree 
upon an arbitration treaty, though many hiave been 



DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS 53 

drafted. 1 Colombia's pretensions extend to the 
Amazon, but Peru has actually exercised unhindered 
jurisdiction north of the Amazon for a long course 
of years : her great river-port, Iquitos, is situated 
on the north shore of that majestic river, and its 
traders have found in the richj rubber forests an 
incentive to a gradual northward aggression favoured 
by the Peruvian Government. A few years ago 
a conflict on the Putumayo was narrowly avoided 
by a modus vivendi agreement (1905), which 
recognized that river as the provisional boundary. 
This agreement was later denounced ; the Iquitos 
rubber traders pushed steadily north, subjugating 
Indians and massacring Colombian traders ; in 1911 
a Colombian garrison at La Pedrera, on the north 
bank of the Caqueti, the next great tributary of 
the Amazon, was attacked by Peruvian troops, and 
after a heroic. resistance was compelled to evacuate, 
A war fever was aroused throughout Colombia, 
martial zeal rose to a high pitch, but the diplomats 
of both countries succeeded in Averting such a 
disaster, Peru surrendering La Pedrera. 

Ecuador claims the same disputed territory, but 
there is no such animosity between h^er and Colombia 
as between the latter and Peru. "On the contrary, 
the Colombians and Ecuadorians feel themselves 
brothers-in-arms against a common foe whom they 
must repel by law or war, confident, more or less, 
that as between themselves they will subsequently 
succeed in making an equitable division. 3 It is 

* A convention signed September 12, 1905, failed of ratification. 

A definite boundaries treaty between Colombia and Ecuador 
was signed May 24, 1908, completed by a treaty of July 2ist, same 
year : these have not yet been ratified. 

An authoritative source of information in regard to Colombian 
boundary questions, up to the date of its publication, with valuable 
bibliographies, is A. J. Uribe: Anales Diplomatics de Colombia 
(2 vols., Bogotd, 19001). For the negotiations since that date, nego- 
tiations which even one of the foremost South American diplomats 



54 COLOMBIA 

more than likely that all these matters involved 
between the various countries will be decided in the 
course of the next few years by arbitration, sub- 
mitted either voluntarily or through moral pressure 
exercised by other Powers, since it must not be 
forgotten that, however lamentable their internal 
condition at times, the South American nations have 
taught many a useful lesson to the more " civilized " 
Europeans in the field of international arbitration. 

If the writer can be pardoned for venturing on a 
prophecy, the eventual boundary between Colombia 
and Peru will be the Putumayo River, with, possibly, 
a deviation to the north in th,e latter's favour, to 
protect some of her colonists on tributary rivers 
in its lower course (the source of the river is un- 
questionably Colombian). Peru a few years ago 
I had it on the authority at the time of one of her 
distinguished diplomats would have been well 
satisfied to have that river fixed as the definite 
boundary. 

A common antagonism to Peru has allied Chile 
and' Colombia ; their relations are most cordial. 
As early as 1880 a permanent and absolute general 
treaty of arbitration was signed by the two nations, 
and Chilean officers have been at work in recent 
years in training and reorganizing the Colombian 
army. 

iWith the other Spanish American nations not 
already mentioned, Colombia's diplomatic relations 
are unimportant in fact, practically nil. Nor does 
her international intercourse with the rest of the 
world present anything of special interest. The 

calls " Tres difficiles & saistr" (Alvarez : Drott international American, 
Paris, 1910), the yearly publications and special reports of the 
various Foreign Offices must be consulted. The controversial 
literature, which is abundant, is apt to be misleading. Exception 
must be made of the recently published book by General Rafael 
Wbe-Uribe, 



DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS 55 

European nations have occasionally pressed claims 
of their nationals for injuries to person or property, 
but all have been satisfactorily settled by direct 
diplomacy or arbitration. * Foreigners have had but 
little cause for complaint in Colombia, unlike some 
other South American countries : their lives and 
their property have been secure even during revolu- 
tions ; in fact, during the progress of a revolution 
they have often been placed, as far as money-making 
is concerned, in a position far more advantageous 
than the native. 

Worthy of mention is Colombia's friendly feeling 
for Germany and for Japan, due to a mistaken notion 
that these nations are inimical to the United States, 
which she has come to regard as her worst enemy ; 
but any alliance with either is extremely unlikely. 
It has, however, been suggested that one means by 
which the United States could compensate Colombia 
for her Panama loss, without the necessity of con- 
fessing wrongdoing, would be by paying Colombia a 
substantial sum in consideration of an engagement 
not to permit the acquisition of any seaport, coaling 
rights, or canal by any foreign Power. 

Colombia has suffered somewhat from the want 
of an established! and organized diplomatic and 
consular service. Appointments to foreign posts are 
largely due to friendship, nepotism, or political 
expediency to reward an ally or remove a foe. 
True, able lawyers and 1 men who by birth and 
social position or by experience in foreign countries 
are well-equipped for a diplomatic life often credit- 

1 Of recent cases, the most important was that of Cerrati, an 
Italian subject, whose property was confiscated for alleged com- 
plicity in the revolution of 1885. It presented many points of 
interest to the international lawyer, and was decided by President 
Cleveland as arbitrator, in 1897, in Cerruti's favour. Some minor 
questions left pending by his decision were not finally settled 
till 1911. 



56 COLOMBIA 

ably fill positions abroad, but their tenure of 
is apt to be short-lived ; naturally the ablest men 
are the most ambitious, and ever ready to shift 
from duty at a foreign Court to the temptation of 
political leadership at home. At the present time 
Colombia accredits ministers to England^ France, 
and Germany, Spain, the Holy See, the United 
States, Venezuela, Ecuador, and to Chile, Peru, and 
Brazil combined ; appointments ad honorem are 
frequently made to other countries. Paid consuls 
are also maintained at London, Liverpool, Paris, 
Antwerp, St. Nazare, Hamburg, New York, 
Guayaquil, San Francisco, Curagoa. One commend- 
able feature of her foreign service, which would 
be still more commendable if it were not so frequently 
exercised as a pure act of favouritism and not as a 
reward of merit, is the sending of young men as 
nominal attaches to the legations and consulates 
for the purpose of pursuing their studies abroad. 
.While not all resist the temptations of the gay or 
idle life to which they are exposed, the study at 
close range of the social and governmental institu- 
tions of nations more advanced than .their own is 
of distinct service to their country. For this reason, 
as well as because a training in foreign service is 
furnished, this is an enlightened form; of scholarship 
which should be encouraged, though with care that 
it be based purely on a merit system. 



CHAPTER Vj 
GOVERNMENT AND LAW 

THE early Constitutions of Colombia, like those o'f 
so many others of the South American countries, 
were modelled on that of the United States, and 
the outer structure of the Constitution of to-day, 
in spite of the casting aside of the doctrine of 
state sovereignty and the adoption of the French 
centralized system, bears many points of resemblance 
to the fundamental charter, of the North American 
nation. 

The United States Constitution was the result of 
a natural evolution, a product of the brains of nuen 
steeped in the common law, learned in their Coke 
and their Blackstone, jealous of their hereditary 
rights and liberties ; while adopting new external 
forms, its inner spirit was essentially a common law 
spirit : almost every phrase was pregnant with his- 
torical meaning, engendered by an ancestry of 
ancient statutes asnd decisions. 

It was obviously a mistake to attempt to graft 
such an alien institution on a people bred in the 
Spanish civil law, instead of revitalizing the exist- 
ing Spanish institutions and breathing into them no 
easy, yet no impossible task the modern spirit of 
liberty. The consequence has been that the Colom- 
bians, a few exceptions apart, have never really 
understood, do noj to-day understand, their own 

57 



58 COLOMBIA 

Constitution, which is a translation wlierein words 
and phrases have lost much of their historic signi- 
ficance and in- which the precious safeguards of 
individual right and the admirable system of checks 
and balances seem to have been entirely lost. No 
vast body of constitutional law has been built up : 
the Constitution has no vital effect upon the nation's 
life or laws : inner spirit it has none ; and though 
there is much discussion over it, and to-day all 
political parties proclaim themselves " constitutional," 
that is, adherents in the main of the existing Constitu- 
tion, 1 yet a reading of it furnished us surpr^sinjglyj 
little assistance in arriving at any complete under- 
standing of the actual workings of the Government. 
The Constitution contains the customary division 
of all governmental power into the Executive, the 
Legislative, and the Judicial. The Executive has 
always vastly overshadowed the others, and even 
to-day, under a normal regime, does so not the 
President alone, but the ensemble of the Executive 
departments, seven in number : State or Govern- 
ment, Foreign Relations, Hacienda or Exchequer (in 
charge of Government revenues),. Treasury (in 
charge of disbursements), War, Public Works, and 
Education. The Ministers at the head of these 
departments are appointed by the President and 
freely removable by him, but are responsible to the 
Legislature, in whose deliberations they participate. 
The amount of public business being relatively small, 
the President can and does actually keep in touch 
with every department : frequent shifts and changes 

1 Adopted in 1886 ; a translation by Professor Bernard Moses is 
to be found in Foreign Constitutions, comp. by George A. Glynn 
(Albany, N.Y., 1894), reprinted from Am. Acad. of Pol. and Soc. Sci. 
(Philadelphia, 1893) ; and also in American Constitutions, by Jose 
Ignacio Rodriguez (Washington, D.C., 1905-7). Several important 
amendments were adopted, however, in 1910 not included in 
either of these books. For a translation of these see Appendix I. 




PRESIDENT RESTREPO AND HIS CABINET, IQI2. 

(i) Sr. Dr. Carlos E. Restrepo, President : (2) Sr. Dr. Carlos Cuervo Marquez,- Minister of Public 
Instruction ; (3) Sr. Dr. Jose Manuel Arango, Minister of War ; (4) Sr, Dr. Francisco Restrepo Plata, 
Minister of Hacienda ; (5) Sr. Dr. Pedro M. Carreno, Minister of Government ; (6) Sr. Dr. Jose Ma. 
Gonzalez Valencia, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; (7) Sr. Dr. Simon Araujo, Minister of Public Works ; 
<8) Sr. Dr. Carlos N. Rosales, Minister of the Treasury. 



To face p. 58. 



GOVERNMENT AND LAW 59 

- 

in the ministry are the rule in practice, and rarely 
is a minister, in office long enough to build up his 
department or carry out his own policies. The Presi- 
dent himself, however, is elected by direct popular 
vote for a term of four years, 1 but is not eligible 
for consecutive re-election. 

The President likewise appoints and can freely 
remove the governors of the departments, who, in 
their turn, designate and control the prefects of the 
provinces and the alcaldes of the municipalities. 
These various officers, all mediately or directly under 
the thumb of the President, are the local govern- 
ment. The only measure of home rule is to be found 
in the limited powers of the departmental assemblies 
and the consejos municipales municipal boards] 1 , 
both elected by popular vote : the latter, although 
the name has been adopted from the French " conseil] 
municipal," are, in reality, typical Spanish institutions, 
.lineal descendants of the ayantamientos. The 
ayantamiento in Spain was not so much a local 
territorial institution adhering to the land as an asso- 
ciation or organization of the individual members or 
families of the community ; if they ntoved, an 
ayantamiento moved with them : much as the 
Englishman carried his common law with* him 
wherever he went, so did the Spaniard carry his 
ayantamiento. Rights clustered around the ayunta- 
miento; representation in the Parliament or Cortes 
had been obtained in Spain earlier than in any other 
European country : there were corporate privileges 
and liberties which even the Kin|g himself could not 
attack, though he claimed absolute power. Although 
the functions of the ay,antomiento, transported to 
the colonies, were weakened by disuse, it yet retained 

1 There is no Vice-President, but the two houses of Congress 
meeting jointly elect each year two designated successors, first and 
second Designado respectively, to act in case there should be a 
vacancy in the Presidency. 



60 COLOMBIA 

some of its local power and a measure of independ- 
ence. The great mistake made by the framers of 
Colombia's early Constitutions, in the writer's opinion, 
was in not taking such a thoroughly Spanish institu- 
tion as the ayttntamiento as the unit or foundation 
upon which to base their government, instead of 
hearkening after strange gods. Perhaps it is not 
yet too late. 

The consejeros, or town councillors, are generally 
men of standing in the community merchants, 
lawyers, doctors, hacendados, are usually the in- 
cumbents, with but a comparatively small sprinkling, 
of professional politicians. The proletariat is not 
represented ; no class struggle has yet begun in 
Colombia, nor is one in sight, though in one or two 
of the largest cities there are political unions of 
" obreros" composed, however, of artisans rather 
than labourers. 

The conse/os show themselves well versed in self- 
government, and on the whole, within their un- 
fortunately very restricted powers, do fairly well. 
The same can hardly, be said of all the alcaldes and 
prefects, generally professional politicians and 
adherents of the Government, who are apt to be 
somewhat arbitrary and to exercise their power too 
much on behalf of their political and personal 
favourites ; the ruling impression seems to be that 
the rank and file are not above accepting douceurs; 
but while moral standards are not as high as might 
be desired, there is no such general corruption as 
foreigners are apt to imagine. The alcalde, whose 
functions are of a very varied nature, is a particularly 
interesting and picturesque personality in the smaller 
communities. He does not, it is true, sit out of doors 
dispensing justice in the manner depicted in so many; 
genre paintings of Spain ; but his shaded office, 
likely as not with large doors swinging right out on 
the street, anfdf in cool contrast to the glaring heat 



GOVERNMENT AND LAW 61 

out of doors, is almost as picturesque ; there he 
will sit at his desk, a large plain table, invariably 
accompanied by the secretary, who is leisurely 
busy writing out minutes or diligencias; only two 
or three other chairs in the room, several loungers 
standing about puffing at cigars or cigarettes ; easy 
of access when in, though he will frequently arrive 
late, shut up shop for a long midday period, close 
early, and be not seldom absent from town either on 
his own business or that of his office : he may have 
to take long trips to give possession of mines or of 
public lands, or, in the exercise of police duties or, 
quasi-judicial functions, to view fences or boundaries 
or watercourses as to which neighbouring landowners 
are in dispute, or generally " to keep the peace." 
These and a number of other matters which in Anglo- 
Saxon countries would be left to the courts, such as 
deciding as to the infringement of municipal ordin- 
ances and imposing fines or even imprisonment, are 
passed upon administratively by the alcalde. From 
his decisions there may be appeals to the prefect or 
to the governor, and finally to the National Govern- 
ment at Bogotd, and in constitutional cases to the 
courts. 

The prefect rules- over a: larger territory the 
province and the governor over several provinces 
united as a department. At the present writing there 
are fifteen departments with capitals and provinces, 
as shown on pp. 62 and 63. 

The departments vary greatly, not alone in popula- 
tion and area, but also in resources. The revenues 
of none are adequate to proper administration, and 
the budgets of some strike us as being ridiculously 
small. The incomes of the departments are raised 
by a number of makeshift devices, no scientific study 
of the problems of taxation or even attempt at it 
having ever been made, as far as I am aware, in 
Colombia. The National Government is not! badly. 



62 



COLOMBIA 



III S 



III I 




** fl*l 2 

If 81* 

s Mi ! 







00 



> 
i 





O 



ef 06" 

8 a 



a 





en 





l! II s 

000 



64 COLOMBIA 

off, deriving its principal revenue from custom duties 
and additional income of considerable moment from 
mines, stamped paper, recording taxes, etc. ; but the 
departments and municipalities (a few large cities 
with special sources of revenue apart), never having 
devised an adequate system of land taxation, are 
left to levy what little they can by indirect special* 
taxes, often of an unwise and hampering character 
e.g., licences restrictive of commerce and industry, 
slaughter-house fees, tolls, liquor and other monopo- 
lies, etc. Land taxes are ridiculously low, but at 
that, valuations are uneven and consequently tnjust, 
and payment is often evaded. The following balance- 
sheets l of representative departments for 1911 will 
illustrate the paucity of their resources and how little 
can be expected in the way of efficient administration 
and public improvements under the unaided initiative 
of the departments : 

Dollars. Dollars. 

MAGDALENA DEPART- f Revenue 

MENT 



SANTANDER DEPART- ( Revenue 
MENT 



The budget of the Department of Caldas for the 
fiscal year 1912-13 is more hopeful : estimated 
revenue $466,192, all of which is appropriated for 
expenses. The Department of Cundinamarca, the 
seat of the national capital, naturally commands 
greater resources: its budget for 1912-13 is 
$949,348. 

The resources of the municipal districts '(muni- 
cipios}, especially the less populous ones, are even 
more limited, the revenue per capita rarely exceed- 
ing a dollar, gold, a year. The following annual in- 

1 Data supplied to the author by the governors. 



GOVERNMENT AND LAW 



65 



comes of a few typical districts taken at random 
are illuminating. * 



Angelopolis 
Bucaramanga 

Bosa 

Corozal 

Envigado 

Guaderas 

Itague 

Juan de Acosta 

Manizales 

Palmar de Varela .. 
Sabanalarga 
San Jacinto 



Population. 



2O,000 

3,ooo 

15,492 

9,000 

10,145 

4,534 
1,500 

34.9I3 
3,000 

15^79 
6,250 



Annual Income. 
Dollars. 

2,327 

19,264 

1,604 



9,050 
4,179 
3,230 

757 
44,720 

2,875 

25,000 

1,906 



Therefore this economic helplessness of the depart- 
ments, coupled with the fact that the governors, 
prefects, and alcaldes are appointed mediately, or 
immediately by the President, causes all power to 
be centralized at the national capitol, Bogoti. There, 
in offices in the new presidential palace, whicK also 
serves as his residence, rules the chief Executive 
of the nation. The palace, centrally located in the 
city, is of an unpretentious though tasteful exterior ; 
the interior is wholly charming, with a refreshing 
flower -filled patio and fountain in the centre, the 
rooms bright, the whole impressively neat and clean ; 
the offices possess an air of dignity and quiet constant 
activity in marked contrast to the typical alcalde's 
bureau such as we have pictured. Democratic sim- 
plicity reigns : a secretary, a chief clerk, and three 
subordinates are all that are provided for by law. 
In addition, the President makes use of messengers 
and a soldier or two attached to the palace, but his 
chief assistance comes through the various Ministries. 

A block away from the palace is the national 
Capitol, a structure of classical architectural correct- 

1 Data finished mostly by the alcaldes of the year 1911, 
6 



66 COLOMBIA 

ness fronting on a large, but rather bare plaza or 
square. The building was erected by General 
Mosquera, but never fully completed according to 
his plans ; the interior is unadorned, disappointing, 
and in need of renovation : in it are housed some 
of the principal Government offices, and here sits the 
Legislature. 

The Congress is composed of a Senate, whose 
members are elected for terms of four years by small 
electoral colleges, elected in their turn by the depart- 
mental assemblies, and a House of Representatives 
(Camara de Representantes\ one for each 50,000 
inhabitants, elected by direct vote for terms of two 
years. Sessions are held annually, but the President 
and Ministers (who constitute " el Gobierno" the 
Government) can convoke special sessions. Presi- 
dents have also exercised the right, instead of having 
elections for Congress, of convoking a National 
Assembly, the membership of which has been 
appointed by the departmental assemblies, upon 
whom pressure can be somewhat more readily exerted 
by the Executive than upon a direct vote at honestly 
conducted polls. The distinction between a " Con- 
gress " and a " National Assembly " is somewhat 
hard for the foreigner to grasp, especially as the 
Constitution makes no provision for the latter body, 
but it is held that the right of the sovereign people 
to assemble a right exercised when they adopt the 
Constitution is inherent and superior even to the 
Constitution itself. 1 



1 It was very frankly stated in the preamble of the Executive 
Decree convoking such an Assembly in 1905, after a deadlock in 
Congress, " It is not in the Constitution but in the supreme law of 
necessity that the basis for an act of such transcendental impor- 
tance must be sought." And such an Assembly can amend the 
Constitution without the slower proceedings provided by that instru- 
ment itself. In 1886 the President himself designated the member- 
ship of the Assembly. When such have been the political practices 



GOVERNMENT AND LAW 67 

The debates in Congress, which are well reported 
in the daily Press of Bogotd, are interesting, con- 
siderable learning and forensic skill being displayed, 
but it has often proved difficult to obtain concerted 
action for broad constructive measures : the conse- 
quence is that a great deal of the legislation is of 
trivial character. Laws must be passed by both 
Houses and receive the approval of the President, 
who has the right to veto any Bill, but it may be 
passed over his veto by a two-thirds vote of each 
House. This right of the Congress to overrule a 
veto is subject to the restriction that if the Bill be 
objected to by the President on the ground that it 
violates the Constitution, then if Congress insist, it 
passes to the Supreme Court for a final decision as 
to its validity. 1 

The Supreme Court consists of nine magistrates, 
four elected by the Senate, five by the House of 
Representatives, from lists of nominations presented 
by the President. Its highest function consists in 
passing upon the constitutionality of laws and execu- 
tive decrees ; the Constitution expressly provides 
the " protection of the integrity of the Constitution 
is entrusted to the Supreme Court of Justice/' but 
the tradition of a strong and independent judiciary 
is wanting in Colombia, and is likely to be militated 
against by the short term five years in the Supreme 
Court, four years in the Superior Courts for which 
the judges are now elected. The judges of the 
Superior Courts are appointed by the Supreme Court 
from nominations made by the respective depart- 

(and may be again any time in the future, wholly aside from any 
revolution or dictatorship), one can readily see why it is not to tjie 
Constitution alone that we must look for the practical working of 
the Colombian Government. 

1 This interesting procedure was invoked m respect to the last 
law (No. 65) passed by the 1911 Congress in regard to appropria- 
tions for charities, the Presidential veto being sustained. 



68 COLOMBIA 

mental assemblies ; municipal judges are elected by 
the town councils. The judges have in the past 
generally shown themselves subservient to the Execu- 
tive Power ; when unwilling to bow down, their 
only recourse has been to resign, not having had 
strength and support sufficient to make an effective 
contest. 

It is not to the judiciary alone, therefore, that we 
can look for assurances of stable, orderly, and con- 
stitutional government in Colombia. But in litiga- 
tion not affected by politics, the administration of 
justice in the upper tribunals throughout the country 
compares not so unfavourably with that in the 
majority of countries throughout the globe. The 
law's delays in civil litigation are a grievance here 
as elsewhere : the procedure, largely the Spanish 
procedure with a few modifications copied from the 
French, is susceptible of many reforms : the clear- 
cut, snappy " day in court," where witnesses are con- 
fronted one with another, examined and subjected 
to that best of all methods of getting at the truth, 
a severe cross-examination, followed by the summing- 
up of the advocates is unknown ; the examination 
of witnesses is conducted quietly and slowly, as in 
our equity procedure, usually by means of written 
questions read to them by the secretary or clerk of 
the court, and the answers taken down in longhand 
with equal deliberation. There being no jury, oral 
arguments are rare. The procedure does not tend 
to develop skilful trial lawyers, but there is no dearth 
of legal ability throughout the country as there is 
no dearth, either, of lawyers. Those of them who 
have obtained a University education, and many, by 
courtesy, who have not, are styled " doctors " : it 
is a common observation of travellers that in the 
upper classes every other man seems to be a 
" doctor " ; there are far more lawyers than legal 
business, and except in the largest towns, they, all 



GOVERNMENT AND LAW 69 

resort to other occupations or to their inherited 
estates for the means of subsistence. At the Uni- 
versities they, receive a sound legal training in 
fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and the 
temperament of the Colombians naturally inclines to 
legal subtlety and astuteness : the less reputable 
practitioners, versed in all the intricacies and tricks 
of procedure, are given the picturesque title of 
tinterillos, or ink-slingers, reminiscent of the old 
Spanish proverb, " Mttcha tinta y poca justicia " 
" Much ink but scant justice " ; but there are plenty 
of sound lawyers and learned legal writers in fact, 
in view of the small population of the country, the 
production of legal literature is quite remarkable, and 
betrays a keen interest in problems of jurisprudence. 
French and Spanish influences are predominant in 
shaping the law of the country ; the writings of 
English, American, and German jurists are scarcely 
known, except as they filter through French sources : 
on the other hand, French commentators are regarded 
with high authority and usually control the decisions 
of the courts on points where the Colombian Codes 
are obscure. 1 This is very natural, as the basic one 
of these Codes, the Civil Code, is largely founded 
on the Code Napoleon. The Colombian Code is a 
copy for the most part of the Chilean Code, which 
was drafted by one of the ablest jurists South America 

1 The principal Colombian Codes have been translated into 
English as follows : by Frank L. Joannini : The Civil Code oj 
Panama in Force in the Canal Zone, and The Low of Civil Procedure in 
Force in Panama and the Canal Zone (a part of the Judicial Code), 
published by the Isthmian Canal Commission, Washington, D.C., 
1905 J by Edward S. Cox Sinclair : The Commercial Laws of the 
World, vol ii., Colombia, ed. by Dr. A. J. Uribe (London and Boston, 
U.S.A., 1912) ; by Phanor J. Eder : The Mining Laws of the Republic 
of Colombia (Washington, B.C., 1912). The remaining Codes, not 
mentioned in the text or this note, are chiefly administrative, viz., 
the Fiscal Code, the Military Code, the Code of Fomento, the Police 
Code, and the Code of Public Instruction. 



70 COLOMBIA 

has ever produced, Dr. Andres Bello, who modelled 
his work on the French Civil Code, and incorporated 
a host of its provisions, but improved on it. As aj 
consequence, Colombia has a clear, harmonious, and 
scientific body of general law, though of course it 
cannot equal those monuments of comprehensive, 
scientific, and thorough jurisprudence, the recent 
German and Swiss Codes. 

The Commercial Codes there are two, one dealing 
especially with maritime law are chiefly based on 
the Spanish law, though also influenced by the 
French. They also could be revised with profit to 
meet modern mercantile conditions : they are per- 
vaded by a certain formalism, not consistent with 
the elasticity and freedom which modern business 
development requires, and which is consequently often 
evaded or neglected in practice. Separate com- 
mercial tribunals have not been established, although 
permitted by the Constitution, and the collection of 
debts, the settlement of business disputes, and the 
winding up of insolvent estates is a long, tedious 
process ; if improvement were made, undoubtedly 
Colombian merchants could obtain better credits 
abroad. 

The Penal Code, likewise showing strong French 
influences, is antiquated, but the administration of 
criminal law is more expeditious than that of civil 
law, and on the whole, barring a certain inertia on 
the part of prosecuting officers, is creditable. For 
the more serious crimes a trial by jury is had, but 
the jurors are only three is number. 

Colombians are essentially a law-abiding people, 
and the percentage of crime, as far as one can judge 
ia the absence of penal statistics, seems to be small ; 
petty thievery is common, and convictions therefor 
hard to obtain ; drunkenness produces much disorder 
and not a few homicides, but serious, premeditated 
crimes are rare ; highway robbery, for instance, is 



GOVERNMENT AND LAW 71 

unknown ; one can travel for days on unfrequented 
roads with valuables in hand, alone and unarmed, yet 
witlj, a perfect sense of security. 

After conviction, the lot of the poor criminal is 
not an enviable one : Colombian prisons are a dis- 
grace, dirty, unsanitary, full of vermin, without cots 
(no great hardship, however, as their inmates are 
accustomed to sleeping on the floor or ground), and 
rations so scanty and poor that prisoners usually have 
food brought daily by their family or friends. 
Reformatories have not been instituted ; prison re- 
form is an unknown idea in fact, though modern 
theories of criminology and penology are fairly well 
known to Colombian thinkers, no practical applica- 
tion has been attempted. There is here a great 
field, and one foreign to party politics, on which 
Colombian statesmen and reformers can profitably 
labour. 



CHAPTER VI 
FINANCES AND BANKING 

COLOMBIA'S paper money is a source of much amuse- 
ment to the casual traveller who visits its ports for 
a few hours on one of those delightful Caribbean 
cruises so enticingly featured by the steamship com- 
panies. Upon his return home he will narrate with 
zest to a circle of friends or perchance readers for 
he has been known to write an article or even a 
book from out the vast knowledge gleaned in those 
few hours how he gave a ten-dollar bill or a five- 
pound note in payment of some small purchase and 
received hundreds of dollars in change ; he will 
joke about the ** high cost of living/' how he paid 
five dollars for a few oranges, twenty dollars for 
a bottle of beer, a hundred dollars for a lunch ! But 
to the business man in Colombia or the statesman 
grappling with its finances, the paper money is no 
subject for jest : it presents one of the most serious 
problems to be dealt with : because of it dire ruin 
has time and again stared the country in the face* 
To-day, the monetary situation is somewhat brighter 
than it has been for years past, but the paper money 
at best is a grievous nuisance, a clog] on the ,wheels 
of industry and commerce, and at worst, with its 
possibilities of violent fluctuations in value, a menace 
and a: blight,. 

Till about 1881, Colombia had been on a bi- 
metallic basis ; the currency of the country was 

73 



FINANCES AND BANKING 73 

gold and silver and there was no paper. For some 
years previously prosperity had reigned, the exports 
were relatively large. But in 1883, notwithstanding 
the gold basis, foreign exchange was at a premium 
of 20 per cent. There was a financial crisis. One 
of the principal exports had been cinchona bark- 
in 1875 over 2,000,000 of that article alone had 
been exported but the enormous product from cul- 
tivation in Java and the British East Indies reduced 
the price : whereas in 1879 tihe sulphate of quinine 
had reached the high price of i6s. 6d. an ounce, 
in 1883 it had dropped to 33. 6d.' The low price 
of coffee and tobacco, the other chief exports of 
Colombia, added to the gravity of the situation. The 
balance of trade was against Colombia. Already 
there had been a constant and progressive expor- 
tation of gold currency, as free coinage of both gold 
and silver was allowed, and the value of silver as 
prescribed by law and as legal tender was higher 
than its market value. Soon, little gold being left, 
the silver money, too, began to leave the country. 
It is said that during the crisis in 1883 the money 
in circulation in Bogotd, the capital, a city of 100,000 
inhabitants, was reduced as low as $200,000 1 
Private banks began to abuse the right which the 
law allowed them to issue notes, and still further 
contributed to the elimination of metallic currency. 
After the triumph of Nunez in the revolution of 
1885 and his defeat of the rebels, it was decreed 
that, dating from May I, 1886, the monetary unit 
of the country should be the dollar (peso) bill of 
the National Bank. The Banco Nacional was an 
institution founded with enormous privileges in 1880 

* By 1885 the price had dropped to 2S. 6d. an ounce, and the 
cinchona trade received its death-blow in Colombia. Calderon : 
La Cuestion Monetarist in Colombia, 1905, a book to which and to 
Nieto Caballero's thesis, El Curso Forzosoysu Historia en Colombia 
(Bogota", 1912), the author is greatly indebted. 



74 COLOMBIA 

by Nunez ; its shares had been offered to the public, 
but none were taken : the Government became the 
sole shareholder, investing $1,047,009.30 out of an 
authorized capital of $2,500,000. It was given and 
availed itself of the right to issue bills, redeemable 
in specie. In 1886, however, it was granted the 
right to issue $4,000,000 in bills, without any 
obligation to so redeem them. This was the begin- 
ning of fiat money in Colombia. By a law of 1881 
private banks were bound to accept the National 
Bank bills at their face value, under penalty of losing 
their own right to issue notes. Worst of all, it -was 
prohibited by law to make contracts, either for cash 
or on credit, in any other money. 

In spite of this very unsound basis, and of a mass 
of contradictory and confusing laws and decrees, 
the country did not very materially suffer for a 
number of years. There was no excessive issue of 
paper money, although the amount kept steadily in- 
creasing. It enjoyed a certain credit, as it was 
deemed to be ultimately, even if not immediately, 
redeemable ; exchange did not greatly fluctuate, 
paper was almost at a parity with silver. 

Nickel pieces were coined, and free coinage of 
silver, but at '500 fine, was maintained. In 1892, 
the President's message reported the base money 
circulation of the country to be as follows : 

Dollars. 

National Bank bills 12,000,000 

Silver coins, '500 fine 4,243,298 

Nickel 3,427,298 

Besides this, there was a' considerable amount, be- 
lieved to be some $2,000,000, of paper money ille- 
gally issued. Issues continued. In 1894 a law 
was passed prohibiting any new issue, except in case 
of foreign war or internal disturbance. There was 
a revolutionary flurry in 1895, so the privilege was 
availed of. When Caro went out of office in 



FINANCES AND BANKING 75 

1898, there was in circulation, in round numbers; 
$31,400,000 of the Banco Nacional bills. The next 
year, a revolution broke out in earnest. The Govern- 
ment needed money, lots of money, to carry on the 
war. The printing presses were at hand. Nothing 
could be simpler. Paper money was issued, not 
merely by the millions, but by the tens and hun- 
dreds of millions. The National Government issued 
it. The Departments issued it. Even some generals 
in the field issued it. The rate of exchange,, which 
had been from 300 to 335 before the revolution (i.e., 
a paper dollar had been worth about 30 cents gold, 
almost on a parity with the silver dollar), began 
to go up, up, up. In 1900 exchange rose above 
1,000 the paper dollar was worth 10 cents gold: 
by the end of 1901 it had reached 5,000 the dirty 
sheet was then equivalent to two cents. The most 
violent fluctuations occurred, thousands of points a 
day, with the varying successes or rumours of defeat 
of the Government. In 1902 matters were even 
worse ; exchange rose at one time as high as 26,000 
the value of the paper dollar was a mere fraction 
of a cent ! But the Government was triumphing 
exchange began to drop. At the end of the war 
(1903) it was impossible to tell how much paper 
money was outstanding, what with the various issues 
and the mass of counterfeits, often better engraved 
tMn the genuine. The amount was certainly not 
less than a billion the national isspes alone, since 
1885, amounted to $746,801,420 p/m. 1 There was 
no pretence, no hope that this would be ever redeem- 
able, but it was legal tender ; old debts were paid 
off in this depreciated currency. The creditor who 
had loaned a thousand dollars gold, hard cash, had 
mockingly flung in his face and was by law com- 
pelled to receive a thousand pesos paper worth ten 
dollars ! 

1 P/m is the common abbreviation in Colombia for paper money 
papel moneda. 



76 COLOMBIA 

In the absence of gold and silver, which had 
entirely disappeared except in a few privileged 
regions (the Choco, Pasto, and the frontier towns 
where the inhabitants had obstinately declined paper), 
some medium of exchange was necessary : by a 
sort of common consent the paper money was 
received in trade after the revolution at a rate of 
exchange fluctuating around 10,000 about a cent 
on the dollar. At this rate it has ever since 
remained, with but comparatively slight fluctuations. 

A remedy for the more pressing evils had to be 
found. A law was passed in October, 1903, at the 
first session of Congress after the revolution, pro- 
hibiting further issues of paper money, fixing a gold 
standard, permitting the circulation of foreign money, 
making paper money legal tender only at its market 
rate of exchange, permitting full freedom of contract 
to stipulate for payment either in gold or paper 
(Libre estipulacion), and finally, creating a Council 
or Junta of Amortization. This board was autho- 
rized to collect certain national revenues, some of 
which were payable in gold, and it was its duty to 
auction the gold so received and to burn the paper 
money received by it as the purchase price of the 
gold, as well as that received in payment of certain 
other revenues payable in paper. 

By this law, too, customs duties could be paid either 
in gold or, most important privilege, in paper money 
at the current rate of exchange. Some tangible 
value was at last given. Solid land began to appear 
after the deluge in which all business was drowning. 
The Junta de Amortization performed its duties well : 
weekly, mountains of .the fiat money were publicly 
burned. Its work was cut short, however, by General 
Reyes, who ordered the funds destined for amortiza- 
tion to be paid into the Treasury for the general 
expense fund of the nation ; to replace the Junta, h,e 
conceived and carried out the idea of reestablishing 



FINANCES AND BANKING 77 

a national bank 1 . It was called the Banco Central 
and received extraordinary privileges with the object 
of . not only handling the money problem, but of 
aiding in the solution of tjie fiscal questions of the 
Government. Organized by a syndicate of Colom- 
bian capitalists an inner group of friends of the 
administration and of powerful financial interests 
its shares were offered for sale throughout the 
country, but were not over favourably received. Of 
the authorized and intended capital of $8,000,000 
gold (80,000 shares at $100 each), only some 31,925 
shares were eventually taken, $50 a share being pay- 
able" cash down, the remaining $50 to be subject to 
call by the Board of Directors, but it has never been 
called. Among the duties or rights of the bank 
to enumerate all its extraordinary privileges would 
be a lengthy task were : to collect certain of the 
Government revenues, receiving a commission of 
10 per cent, of the net proceeds for so doing, thie 
expense of collection being for account of the 
Government ; to exchange the current paper money 
for a new, well-engraved edition ordered from 
England ; to be the ' Government depositary ; to 
loan the Government (from its own revenues in 
process of collection, it will be noted) moneys neces- 
sary to pay the interest on th6 foreign debt and 
to arrange such payment ,* to issue bank-notes, to 
the exclusion of all other institutions, to twice the 
amount of its paid-up capital, keeping* a cash reserve 
in gold or Government paper equivalent to only 
30 per cent, of the amount issued ; telegraph and 
postal franks and minor exemptions from customs 
dues and recording fees ; to do all in its power to 
maintain the rate of exchange at 10,000 ; to amor^ 
tize the Government, paper money with 25 per cent., 
to be increased later to 50 per cent., of certain of 
the revenues it collected ; and to open a blank credit 
to the Government of $1,000,000, to be increased 
later to $2.000.000. 



78 

The bank certainly rendered many useful services 
to the Government and to the country, not the least 
of which were in paying the interest on the foreign 
debt, in powerfully contributing to the stability of. 
exchange, and in reducing the rate of interest, which 
at the time of its foundation was currently 2 per 
cent., and had reached as high as 7 per cent, a 
month, to i per cent, a month and even less for 
prime bills and discounts. But the extraordinary 
privileges it possessed, the suspicion that many stock- 
holders were making fortunes out of the Govern- 
ment without having put up any actual cash for their 
shares, and the reaction against all the Reyes' poli- 
cies, easily explain the opposition it aroused. After 
the retirement of Reyes, consequently, the Govern- 
ment contract with the bank was rescinded ; any 
damages to which it might be entitled for such reason 
were to be set off by interest which the new Govern- 
ment claimed to be due to the Treasury. The Central 
was continued thereafter merely as a private bank 
on the same footing as other banks. 

Subsequent laws to that creating the- Banco 
Central, by fixing the legal equivalence of paper 
for gold at the rate of 10,000 for the payment of 
duties, taxes, and many other purposes, have helped 
to maintain the stability of that ratio ; and by legis- 
lation also the outworn, dirty old bills have been 
replaced by newer issues (the last edition was 
engraved in the United States) and a small amount 
of nickel and silver currency has been coined and 
put into circulation. The most recent important law 
dealing with the currency is No. 69 of 1909, which) 
created a Conversion Board Junta de Conversion 
modelled somewhat on the lines of the former Junta 
de Amortization, charged with the duty of ex- 
changing old bills for new and for silver ('900 
fine) and nickel, and of taking such steps as may 
be deemed proper to avoid fluctuations in exchange. 



FINANCES AND BANKING 79 

The old Government Mint at Medellin has recently 
been re-opened also for the coinage of gold ; but 
gold coin can be exported as easily as gold dust 
and bars, and of course will be whenever the foreign 
rate of exchange makes it profitable to do so. 

The insufficiency of the total amount of money, 
in circulation for the needs of the country's business 
has, however, been disturbing;. On the other hand, 
the provisions of the last-named law, by which certain 
Government revenues (namely, the product of the 
emerald mines of Muzo and Coscuez and of certain 
other mines, the 2 per cent, surcharge on customs, 
the premium on coinage of silver and nickel, and, 
looking to the future, returns from the cession of 
the right to issue bank-notes and any possible sur- 
plus) are set aside to form a metallic reserve to 
guarantee the conversion of the paper money, coupled 
especially with the improving condition of the national 
finances, have been the greatest factors of late in 
maintaining the stability of exchange at near the 
legal rate. 

To effect an improvement in the nation's balance- 
sheet has been no easy task. One serious difficulty 
that the Government has to contend with is the 
great unpopularity, among the classes wielding 
political influence, of any policy of economy. The 
reduction of salaries to the level of the actual worth 
of the services rendered, or even the suppression 
of useless posts, meets with decided opposition. The 
late Minister of the Exchequer (Hacienda) bitterly 
complains : l " It is undeniable that the number of 
public employees is excessive, and that in general 
they work less and get better pay than similar em- 
ployees in private industry. For more than twenty 
years, the complaint has been formulated that the 
force of officials is continually increasing without any 
real need. . . . The more employees there are, the 
1 Tomas O, Eastman, Report, January 12, 1911, 



80 COLOMBIA 

more urgent becomes the clamour for more offices 
and higher salaries. Hands are thus taken from 
industry ; the bureaucracy attains an uncontrollable 
influence, and becomes a social calamity ; the public 
gets false notions as to the legitimate mission of 
the Government, and favours hare-brained political 
adventurers." It has been the policy of the present 
administration to introduce such economies in the 
Civil Service as were reasonably possible under the 
laws, but patient diplomatic efforts are still necessary, 
as an avalanche of discontented or discharged office- 
holders and their hosts of friends, relatives, and 
sympathizers might overwhelm the Government. In 
the purchase of supplies and the letting of public 
contracts generally, however, the administration has 
been able to act with a firmer hand with less opposi- 
tion, and in this regard there has been a notable 
economy and a notable increase in the " value 
received " by the Government. 

In the face of an income calculated for 1911 
at $9,779,500 and authorized expenditures of 
$11,768,450, the Executive scaled down the expenses 
of the various branches as it was permitted to do 
by law, not only to the extent necessary to avoid that 
deficit, but also an additional $841,811 : expenses 
were cut down $2,830,761, to the figure of 
$8,937,688.40 certainly an economical sum for a 
nation of nearly five million inhabitants. The 
revenue, too, has been above the estimated figure. 
In 1910 the Government revenues were $12,220,760 : 
in 1911, $12,685, 1 19.66, 1 so that for the first time 

1 In detail (some consular and customs returns still incomplete) as 
follows : Customs duties, port fees, etc., $9,072,099 ; consular fees, 
$451,273 ; posts and telegraphs, $455,83 1 ; succession duties, $85,285 ; 
Saband railroad, $263,203 [of which $234,630 was spent on better- 
ments] ; national properties, $10,323 ; patent and trademark fees, 
$486 ; marine salines, #598,716 ; terrestrial salt mines and springs, 
$797,958 ; mining taxes and leases, $49,158 [no return from emerald 



FINANCES AND BANKING 81 

iu a great number of years Colombia can rejoice at a 
surplus instead of lamenting a deficit. 

If this austere policy of puritanical economy could 
only be maintained, Colombia's financial future would 
be not merely satisfactory, but brilliant. The 
national debt, which is less than $24,000,000, could 
be amply secured, and the paper money, which is less 
than $12,000,000 (in its equivalent in gold at the 
current rate of exchange), be amortized. The placing 
of a new loan, consolidating the various scattered 
items of indebtedness now outstanding, some of them 
at high rates of interest, would materially assist the 
problem. 

The resources of the country are daily developing, 
its income daily increasing, yet its national debt per 
capita remains one of the smallest of any of the 
American nations. There is scarcely a country in 
the world, therefore, which offers to the enterprising 
financier a better field for a large bank and loan 
venture, with a high and legitimate profit and a 
fair margin of safety. 

Diplomacy of a high order is, however, required 
to carry through negotiations to a successful termina- 
tion ; the Colombian Government and people, it must 
be confessed, are not easy to negotiate with, and 
cannot easily be made to perceive the standpoint 
of the foreign banker and investor ; they are not 
willing to jump at the first offer of a loan, on any, 
terms whatsoever ; some clauses in contracts whicK 
the foreign banker, in view of his home markets, 
insists upon, the Colombian is loath to grant ; for 
instance, the very reasonable requirement that upon 
default in the payment of interest the principal shall 
become due and payable meets with violent opposi- 
tion and opprobrium, even from the able Minister 

mines] ; stamp taxes and law paper, $476,680 ; cigarettes and 
matches, $56,060 ; territorial revenues [Choco and Meta], $59,022 ; 
river navigation tax, $116,918 ; miscellaneous revenues, $191,102. 

7 



82 COLOMBIA 

whose report I have quoted. XVho wills the end!, 
wills the means ; conversely, who does not will the 
means, does not will the end, and we are often 
forced to the conclusion that Colombia, rejecting the 
only possible means, does not at heart really, desire 
foreign capital. 

.Whether or not a new loan be floated, the outlook 
for the foreign bondholders is favourable, which 
accounts for the rise in the quotations of these bonds 
from 20 in 1904 to 50 at the present day ; a still 
further rise can be looked forward to. In the past, 
however, the history of the foreign debt has been a 
sad one, both for Colombia and for her creditors. 
The writer of the article in the Encyclopaedia 
Britannica (nth ed.) rightly said, "In financial 
matters, Colombia is known abroad chiefly through 
repeated defaults in meeting her bonded indebted- 
ness, and through the extraordinary depreciation of 
her paper currency " ; but in the past few years 
she has gone far towards redeeming her former evil 
reputation. 

The greater part of the foreign debt dates back 
to the improvident loans obtained at the time of the 
Independence ; very little of the money for which 
Colombia became indebted was actually received by 
the nation ; heavy initial discounts, commission and 
brokerage, padded expense charges, and a certain 
amount of peculation reduced the cash received to, 
a low figure : unpaid interest, accumulated till it 
overshadowed the original debt, was from time to 
time added to the principal. Consequently not an 
iota of benefit to the present generation is represented 
by this debt. On the other hand, a compensation 
has been obtained by the very extensive scaling down 
of principal and accrued interest to which the bond- 
holders have at different times consented. In 1845, 
New Granada recognized as its share of the debt 
of La Gran Colombia, and issued new bonds for, 



FINANCES AND BANKING 83 

3,776,791. Interest payments were not kept up. 
In 1860 the debt reached 4,800,000: in 1873, 
6,630,000, from which figure it was scaled down 
to 2,000,000 : in 1896, what with unpaid interest, 
it had reached 3,514,442; part of the accrued 
interest was again released, and the balance added 
to the principal, totalling 2,700,000. The agree- 
ment of 1896 was renewed and amended in 1905 by 
agreement with the Council of Foreign Bondholders, 
and since that year the interest, reduced to 3 per 
cent, per annum, has been paid in full, together 
with commissions and an amount for amortization, 
latterly with the most scrupulous punctuality. The 
1905 agreement left the principal intact at 
2^700,000 ; of the accrued interest, amounting to 
351,000, 70 per cent, has been paid ; the remain- 
ing 30 per cent, is to be paid only if Colombia obtains 
damages from the United States on account of its 
Panama claim. A distinct advantage was gained 
by the bondholders in this 1905 settlement known 
as the Avebury-Holguin Agreement in securing a 
pledge of 12 per cent, (or 15 per cent, if the collec- 
tions fall below $5,000,000) of the customs 
revenues. 1 

The internal debt of Colombia consists of the 
paper currency, which is now definitely recognized 
as a national obligation, and sundry items, chiefly 
for expropriations and military services during the 
last revolution, amounting to $1,315, 751.10, gold 
(263,150), for the redemption of which drawings 
are being held monthly, averaging about $42,000 

T The contract was severely criticized by opponents of the Reyes 
administration as giving an undue preference to the foreign bond- 
holders over domestic and general creditors of Colombia, and as 
made in the interests of speculating "insiders." For a lively post 
mortem discussion, see Santiago Perez Triana's pamphlets : Desde 
Lefos; Desde Lefos y Desde, Cerca ; Dos Carlos, and the replies of 
Jorge Holguin : Desde Cerca, Cosasdel Dia 1907 to 1910. 



84 COLOMBIA 

(8,400). In addition the Government occasionally 
borrows from local banks, and its credit is now good 
enough to enable it to do so without pledging any 
specific securities. On January 31, 1912, these out- 
standing loans from Bogotd banks amounted to 
$262,297.29 (52,459-83)- 

At the present day none of the banks in Colombia 
are banks of issue, nor is it at all likely that such a 
privilege will be given them for many years to come. 
The public distrust incited by the past history of 
bank-notes is too potent to be overcome by any but 
a strong syndicate of foreign investors establishing 
a national bank, under contract with the Government, 
with such large capital and a directorate so above 
suspicion as to command absolute and unswerving 
confidence. It is not unlikely that a national bank 
of issue of this character will sooner or later be 
established, probably in conjunction with the refund- 
ing of the national debt. Tentative negotiations, 
I understand, have been quietly undertaken by two 
or three eminent international bankers, but have come 
to nothing. The few banks now existing in the 
country are private institutions pure and simple. No 
Governmental supervision whatsoever is exercised, 
nor would it be practicable in the present state of 
the country's development. Not only are the quasi- 
public functions of banks unrecognized, but the 
people at large havte not, except to a small degree 
in the largest cities, been educated up to their uses. 
Payments by cheque are very limited, thus throwing 
the entire burden for smaller ordinary transactions 
upon the currency of the country as sole medium of 
exchange ; this, taken at its gold equivalent of ten 
or twelve million dollars, is utterly insufficient for 
the business needs of a nation of more than five 
million inhabitants widely scattered, especially when 
the shipment of currency from place to place is 
impeded both by its bulk and by the ' inadequacy of 




BANCO COMERCIAL, BARRAXQUILLA. 




FINANCES AND BANKING 85 

transportation facilities. In consequence, in larger 
transactions (for example, sales of real estate, herds 
of cattle, or wholesale quantities of merchandise), 
though in nowise partaking of an international char- 
acter, settlements are commonly made by bills of 
exchange on Europe or the United States. Drafts 
not infrequently pass through a number of hands, 
serving as a medium of exchange for merchants 
and cattle-dealers at fairs or markets, go from 
town to town, and are in circulation for weeks, 
even months, before being finally transmitted for 
collection. 

The smaller towns have no banks at all ; even 
some of the important centres, like Santa Marta and 
Bucaramanga, have none. Where banking institu- 
tions do exist, a large share of the business is never- 
theless absorbed by private mercantile houses, and 
some so-called banks are purely one-man, one-firm, 
or one-family institutions. These and also the 
majority of banks in which the stock is more widely 
distributed compete with private firms in a great 
variety of commercial transactions ; even buying, 
selling, and exporting products, and speculating 
heavily in exchange. Only a few of the banks are 
conservative, and confine themselves to the strictly 
banking business of receiving deposits, loaning funds, 
and selling exchange, and even in some of these 
carefully managed, institutions inner cliques are apt 
to rule things their own way and for their own 
benefit. The fiduciary relation of the banker to 
depositors and the public has been scarcely recog- 
nized, and consequently there is as yet a lack of 
confidence which has hindered the development of 
the banking system. 

Only rudimentary attempts at establishing savings 
or mortgage banks have been made ; the latter are 
especially needed for the proper agricultural develop- 
ment of the country. Such capital as is invested in 



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FINANCES AND BANKING 87 

the banking business is almost entirely domestic*; 
with the exception of an institution now in process 
of organization at Medellin, in which ,a German syndi- 
cate is interested, there is no foreign capital in the 
business, as stock held by foreign merchants resident 
in Colombia and who have there made their money 
can hardly be considered foreign capital. No 
statistics of banking have been, so far as I am 
aware, compiled in Colombia the total amount of 
capital engaged in banking cannot be definitely 
stated it is probably between 1,000,000 and 
1,200,000, and the deposits do not exceed those 
figures. The statistics on the opposite page, 
laboriously compiled I from annual reports and 
private sources of information, will give some idea 
of a few banks of various types and character 
throughout the country. 

The time would seem ripe for the establisiiment of 
foreign banks, or rather of banks with foreign back- 
ing. The Germans have already started, and with 
their usual commercial foresight they are doing it 
in the right way to gain public goodwill, that is, in 
co-operation with native capitalists. Conservative 
banking is badly needed in Colombia and will un- 
doubtedly meet with large rewards. 

* By Henry J. Eder, banker at Cali. 



CHAPTER VII 
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 

IN the matter of transportation Colombia is still in the 
Middle Ages. Only a few hundred miles of railroads 
are in operation ; wagon roads are few and far 
between and travelled chiefly by ox-carts ; the mule 
roads are rough trails, often impassable in the rainy 
season ; bridges are sorely needed in many localities ; 
scarcely more than half a dozen of the principal 
rivers know the whistle of the steamboat ; many 
sections of the country can be reached only by 
dug-out canoes or by explorers' trails through virgin 
forest. The horse or saddle mtile for travellers, our 
patient friend the sumpter-mule, or occasionally other 
pack animals (ox, horse, burro, man, or even woman), 
for goods these constitute, first and foremost, 
Colombia's present-day transportation system. 

But if the traveller can free his mind from 1 thle 
slavery of time, as, followed by his faithful page, he 
journeys his leisurely thirty miles a day over moun- 
tains and through charming Andean valleys, some- 
times rising before dawn or riding by the light of 
the moon to escape the midday blaze of the lowlands, 
stopping at primitive inns which seem to hiave about 
them a whiff from the pages of Don Quixote or 
Gil Bias, or at still more primitive huts bordering on 
the aboriginal that serve as customary shelters for the 
wayfarer, he feels a charm that compensates for 

88 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 89 

the deprivation of the swift trains., " luxurious sleep- 
ing-cars, and sybaritic hostelries of modernity. 

But business, modern civilization, clamours for 
transportation facilities. On every side the develop- 
ment of the country's natural resources is hindered by 
lack of roads rich mines to which machinery cannot 
be taken except at frightful cost, forests of valuable 
timber too remote from the seas or navigable rivers 
to be available for international trade, agricultural 
lands that could supply a large share of the world's 
tropical products, did not the freights eat up the 
profits these lie fallow and unworked. Dozens of 
articles that the country itself produces, prime neces- 
sities like salt, sugar, rice, flour, potatoes, are im- 
ported from, abroad because that is cheaper, despite 
high duties, than transporting them from one part of 
the country to another. Roads and railroads are 
indeed the crying need. 

The best way perhaps to impress upon the reader 
the present conditions of travel in Colombia is to take 
him in these pages on a journey from north to south, 
from the Caribbean Sea to the Ecuadorian frontier 
and out again by the Pacific Ocean, on just such a 
trip as an efficient commercial traveller would make 
through the country ; and perhaps I may be able 
to throw out a hint or two that will be of value to 
the novice who is planning a business visit to 
Colombia. 1 

We arrive on Colombian soil at either Cartagena or 
Savanilla (Puerto Colombia), the chief ports on the 
Caribbean, both connected by rail with the main 
artery of trade in Colombia, the Magdalena River. 
Both ports are in very frequent communication with 
Europe, the United States, and the West Indies, and 

1 The explorer will have his own ideas; but a useful note of 
warning, with valuable hints, from that experienced explorer, Dr. 
Hamilton Rice, is sounded in the July, 1912, issue of the Bulletin 
of the Pan American Union, p. 96. 



90 COLOMBIA 

are regular ports of call for the Royal Mail lines 
from Southampton and New York, the Hamburg 
American lines from New York (Atlas service) and 
Hamburg, the Leyland and Harrison lines from 
Liverpool, the United Fruit boats from New York, 
and the steamers of the French Compagnie Generate 
Transatlantiqtte, the Italian La y.eloce, and the 
Spanish Compania Trasatlantica. 

At Savanilla, or more strictly speaking Puerto 
Colombia, for the old port and town of Savanilla 
is at a little distance, a pier, a mile long, constructed 
on iron screwpiles, one of the best of its kind in thq 
whole world, was built in 1893 by the Barranquilla 
Railway and Pier Company, an English company, 
under the supervision of that veteran of engineering 
in Colombia, Mr. John B. Dougherty. The pier, a 
first-class modern structure, with four lines of rails at 
the head, can accommodate four large steamers at a 
time. The road to Barranquilla, 17^ miles, is a 
single-track line covered in an hour's run by three 
trains daily each way. The capital of the company 
is 200,000 and its bonded indebtedness 100,000. 
Its operation has always been profitable, and despite 
the competition of the Cartagena railroad it secures 
nearly half the total exports and imports (in value) 
of Colombia. In 1905 the road carried 76,464 tons ,- 
in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, 76,665 tons, 
net revenue 21,997; 1911, 91,969 tons, net 
revenue 25,668 ; 1912, 96,000 tons and 110,000 
passengers. 

Barranquilla, with which the line is connected, is 
the principal river port on the Magdalena, and it is 
here that one takes steamer for the long journey up 
that river. Its only rival is Calamar, in itself unim- 
portant, but the terminus of the competing railroad 
from Cartagena. This line (65 miles long) and the 
wharf at Cartagena *were built by allied Axaerican cor- 
porations, under favourable concessions, which included 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 91 

control of the wharfage, Eghterage and towing privi- 
leges in the harbour of Cartagena and a subsidy of 
$8,000 a kilometre. The concessions and properties 
are now owned by an English company, The Cartagena 
Railway Company ^ Ltd., with a capital of 750,000 
and a bonded debt o 600,000. In 1905 the road 
carried 34,669 tons ; in 1910, 36,236. It will be 
readily seen, from its greater length, debt, and the 
inferiority of Calamar, that this railroad is at a dis- 
advantage in competing with the Barranquilla line for 
the traffic from the Magdalena River. Cartagena, 
however, is a sheltered harbour, whereas Puerto 
Colombia is an open roadstead ; there is always 
danger, too, that owing to the rapid formation of 
sand-bars at the latter place the magnificent pier 
may some day become inaccessible to any but vessels 
of light draught. 

The commercial traveller must visit both Cartagena 
and Barranquilla, and it is a matter of little moment 
to which he goes first. Cartagena is the cooler and 
more interesting ; on the other hand, if one has to 
wait for a river steamer, it is preferable to do so 
at Barranquilla rather than at Calamar, where ac- 
commodations are of the poorest. 

A little east of Barranquilla and accessible to it 
by launches running on the delta channels of the 
Magdalena is the port of Santa Marta, an early rival 
of Cartagena, which sank into utter commercial 
lethargy until recently revived by the new banana 
industry that has grown by leaps and bounds in the 
last ten years. Santa Marta is now regularly visited 
by the steamers of the United Fruit Company and 
its subsidiary, the Elders and Fyffes line, which rttns 
to Liverpool, and by the Hamburg American boats. 
The bananas and other local products are brought 
to the sea by the Santa Marta Railway, which 
operates 58 miles of track, including short 
branches to tap banana sections, and extends to the 



92 COLOMBIA 

River Fundacion. The line is run by an English 
company, The Santa Marta Railway Company, Ltd., 
which has issued 200,000 ordinary shares, i 59,170 
7 per cent, preferred shares, and 147,200 6 per 
cent, debentures. Its traffic in 1905 was 29,442 
tons, gross receipts in 1909, 69,823, net 18,806 ; 
1910, gross 94,590, net 18,089; for the nine 
months ending September 30, 1911, gross, 84,100, 
net 10,514. The steady increase in business has 
been due to the growth of the banana industry. It 
was originally projected to extend to the Magdalena, 
at the town of Banco, near where the river Cesar 
flows into the great stream, a total distance from 
Santa Marta of about 135 miles, all of which has 
been surveyed. The original concession was granted 
in 1 88 1 and the early days of the road were full of 
misfortunes ; cyclones, revolutions, financial crises 
destroyed its property or delayed its progress ; the 
policy of the Government towards it has been a 
shifting one, now inclined to listen to the clamours 
of the local population, again reluctant to have the 
line pushed to completion for fear of creating a 
ruinous competition to the Cartagena and Barran- 
quilla companies and of becoming obligated to pay 
the large subsidies to which the enterprise is en- 
titled for every kilometre opened to traffic. More- 
over, various controversies have arisen between the 
company and the Government, still pending unsettled, 
chief among which is as to whether a provision in 
the original concession by which the Government 
has the right to purchase the completed road for 
400,000 has been impliedly repealed by subsequent 
contracts or not. Until an explicit declaration is 
obtained on this point, it would be folly for the com- 
pany to spend a million pounds or so, the estimated 
cost of the completed road, in order to turn it over to 
the nation at a future date at less than hialf the cost. 
Arrived at the Magdalena River by any of the 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 93 

routes mentioned, we embark on one of the Hat- 
bottomed, three- to five-foot draught stern-wheeler 
steamers of the Mississippi River type, which com- 
pose the fleets of the steamship combination effected 
a few years ago by the alliance of the Colombian 
Navigation Company, Ltd., the Magdalena River 
Steamboat Company, Ltd., and the Empresa Col&m- 
biana de Navegacion Fluvial, or we may favour one 
of the smaller rival companies. 1 The boats vary 
greatly in size, speed, finish, and conveniences. The 
best are the newer boats which are used on the 
weekly mail express service ; they are the largest 
and built to be the speediest ; but the race is not 
always to the swift, and often in the dry season, 
when the river runs low, one makes better time 
in the smaller boats, which can navigate when the 
large vessel is fast on a sandbank for days at a time 
waiting for a rise. During an extremely dry spell 
one may have to wait weeks. In the early 
part of 1912 nearly a month elapsed without a 
steamer getting up the river. Normally it takes 
about nine or ten days upstream to reach La Dorada, 
the head of navigation on the lower river, distant 
600 miles from Barranquilla. Innumerable obstacles 
and delays account for the length of the journey. 
The current is about three miles an hour, in some 
places even five or six ; only in the first part of the 
trip can the boats travel at night, for as one goes 
upstream, what with the shifting channel, varying 
after every freshet, the sand-bars and shallows during 
the dry season and the logs and other obstructions 
floated down at high water, it becomes too hazardous 
to risk navigation after dark. A great deal of time, 
too, is wasted, stops of an hour or more being fre- 
quently made for the purpose of taking on fuel. The 
boats burn wood, which is piled up in readiness, cut 

1 These are the Compania Antioquena, the Compania Rosa Perez, 
and the Hanseatica. 



94 COLOMBIA 

into the proper lengths, at frequent landings on the river 
banks : the loading; is entirely by hand and conducted 
leisurely ; much longer stops are also made at the 
various " ports " often merely a convenient moor- 
ing-place with a hut or two and corrugated iron sheds 
where passengers and freight are taken on or off. 
Downstream, the current aiding, the trip is very much 
shorter, usually five or six days if all's well, and 
consequently far pleasanter, as the long; up-river 
journey, in spite of the charm of the scenery, the 
diversity of vegetation and of animal life, and the 
daily incidents at the little villages, palls on all but 
the most enthusiastic nature-lovers, who alone find 
sufficient compensation for the many discomforts. A 
stifling heat often prevails, the mosquitoes are a pest, 
the food bad ; save on the newest boats, dirt pre- 
vails ; the lavatories especially are unspeakable, and 
impress one forcibly with the truth of the remarks of 
the innkeeper in Octave Mirbean's La X-628 as to 
what " nous Latins, nous ne savons pas." 

The traveller should take his own cot or hammock 
and linen and a blanket or rug, for it is wise to piut 
up with the extra heat in order to guard one's self 
against the chilling dampness which at night and 
early morning arises from the water. A mosquito 
bar is indispensable both for comfort and health, 
and a gauze head-net and gloves for evening wear 
are advisable as additional safeguards against the 
plaguy insects. One's own supply of ice and bottled 
waters should be laid in before sailing, and it is 
well also to help out the often unpalatable pud 
badly cooked food with canned goods and delicacies. 
These things can be purchased at Barranquilla or 
Cartagena ; the cot and mosquito bars as well as 
your other travelling equipment you had better buy 
at home. 

While on this subject, it may be well to mention 
what the traveller bound for a long journey in 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 95 

Colombia should take ; namely, both light and heavy 
clothing and underwear, as he will encounter ex- 
tremes of climate ; a saddle of small girth, as the 
horses are small ; the cot, mosquito bars, and 
blankets already mentioned the best mosquito 
canopy is the kind that closes like an umbrella, and 
to inspect it after retiring an electric pocket-lamp 
is handy ; the cot should be a light, folding one 
(some experienced travellers prefer a hammock or 
an air mattress) ; one's kit should also include high 
gaiters, reaching above the knee, and a poncho & 
large waterproofed sheet with a hole in the middle 
for the head, which buttons tightly around the neck, 
hangs from the shoulders like a cape, protects both 
rider and horse from torrential rains, and when not 
in use is conveniently strapped to the saddle. The 
medicine chest for ordinary travel need only contain 
quinine pills (five grains should be taken every morn- 
ing after breakfast or ten grains twice a week, in 
malarial districts), bismuth, or sun cholera mixture, 
calomel tablets, some essential oil, like oil of lavender, 
boric acid for prickly heat, a little ammonia, alcohol, 
vaseline. .With a few simple precautions in the 
matter of food and drink, avoiding; mosquitoes and 
exposure to sudden cold or wet, and by generally 
following the dictates of a prudent common sense, the 
traveller need have no fear for his health in Colombia. 
Thus equipped, the traveller is ready to leave 
the Magdalena boat at any of the landing-places, set 
out on a horseback journey to some interior point, 
or embark on the smaller steamers or launches which 
navigate the tributaries of the Magdalena tributaries 
leading to various more or less important parts of the 
country, e.g., at Banco for the River Cesar and the 
fertile but little developed Dupar Valley ; at Cauca, 
near the old town of Mompox, for the Cauca and 
Nechi boats, serving a rich mining section (the 
Magdalena boats usually take advantage of the 



96 COLOMBIA 

superior navigation afforded, and sail for a day on 
the Cauca, passing the town of Magangu6 and rejoin- 
ing the main stream further south by another brazo 
or arm) ; at Nare for Ocafia, at Bodega Central 
for the River Lebrija en route to Bucaramanga, 
etc. On these smaller boats, it is needless to say, 
the discomforts are magnified. 

It is not till we reach Puerto Berrio, 500 
miles from Barranquilla, that we again see a loco- 
motive. Here begins the important Antioquia rail- 
road to Medellin, which will probably be completed, 
except the part crossing the summit of the range, 
before this book is published. The concession and 
the management are directly in the hands of the 
Departmental Government ; the road to-day (after 
the usual Colombian railroad history of delays, dis- 
appointments, engineering difficulties, and even liti- 
gation *) is one of the best and best run in the 
country, and offers a striking instance of what can 
be done by the Colombians if 'they will only apply 
themselves, in a spirit of co-operation, to the enter- 
prise in hand. The completed road will be about 
1 20 miles in length. As it taps one of the most 
populous and at the same time the most thriving^ 
energetic, and industrious sections in the whole 
country, its financial future seems assured, though 
the freight being actually carried to-day is small ; 
in 1905 only 11,084 tons were carried; in 1911, 
20,544 tons. The great engineering problem has 
been at La Quiebra, and various solutions, such as 
switchbacks and cog-rails, were proposed, but it has 
been finally decided, I am informed, to eventually 
tunnel through the mountain obstruction, and for 

1 In 1892, a contract was entered into with the English firm of 
Punchard, McTaggart, Louther & Co., but being rescinded the 
following year by the Government, gave rise to a claim for damages, 
which was finally settled by arbitration, heavy damages being 
awarded to the firm. 




STREET IX BARRAXQUILLA. 



'- ^ -.. 




THE PORT OF BARRANQL'ILLA. 




TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 97 

the present to build a good road (18 miles) for carts, 
automobiles, and traction engines. 

A 3 -foot gauge railroad is also in process of 
construction from Medellin through Amaga to the 
Cauca River, a distance of 52 miles, of which 19 are 
built, to Caldas. In the first six months of 1912 it 
carried 333,340 passengers, with gross receipts there- 
from of $40,000. The company is entirely Colom- 
bian, with a subscribed capital of one million dollars, 
of which one-half has been paid in,. It has no bonded 
debt or encumbrances. A number of fairly good 
cart-roads and bridle-tracks lead out from Medellin 
to the surrounding country, ; on one of these even a 
regular auto service has been established ; the cart- 
roads, however, are short, and the mule-trails, too 
(the most travelled is the <f royal highway " south to 
Ma&izales and the Cauca Valley), soon degenerate 
into that usual type of Colombian road whose praises 
I am reserving until the reader has left the Magda- 
lena behind him for good and all. 

Let us, then, imagine ourselves back on the 
Magdalena, and arriving, a day, after leaving Puerto 
Berrio, at La Dorada, the head of navigation on the 
lower river. We have come 600 miles from Barran- 
quilla, and still a few days' travel and many changes 
are ahead of us before we reach Bogotd, the capital. 
First comes the Dorada Railway, built to circumvent 
the rapids which render dangerous further navigation 
upstream. This line was built by the English Dorada 
Railway Company, and runs past a little beyond 
Honda, an important river port, to a point* called 
Arranca Plumas (22 miles), whence the steamers 
can sail with safety on the upper Magdalena. As 
all the freight and passengers from the Bogoti 
plateau and from the upper M,agdalena section have 
to pass on this railroad, and much traffic is gained 
also from Manizales and across the Quindio, tkis 
road, charging high freights in the barg*ain, has had 

8 



98 COLOMBIA 

no difficulty in showing a profit, although 1 at one 
time the former Cartagena steamboat line, as part 
of a trade war, sent its steamers beyond La Dorada 
and deprived the railroad of considerable freight. 
The railroad is now owned by the Dorada Extension 
'Railway, Ltd., which operates an extension of 51 
miles as far as Ambalema, another town of some 
importance on the Magdalena, in the heart of a 
rich agricultural section, and is intended to eventu- 
ally connect with the Girardot Railway, of which 
we shall soon speak. The capital of the combined 
Dorada companies is 350,000, and their outstanding 
bonded indebtedness is 350,000. In 1905 the 
traffic of the original road (Honda to La Dorada) 
was 48,145 tons; in 1910, 50,764 tons. 

At Honda you have a choice of two ways to 
Bbgoti ; you can take the mule-road, and if the 
season is favourable and the road is reported to be 
in good condition, it is advisable to do so, for you 
view magnificent scenery, the inns are the most com- 
fortable in Colombia, and yp;u get away the sooner 
from the intense heat of the valley and ever-present 
possibility of malaria or other fevers into the refresh- 
ing coolness of the Andes ; or you can take a steamer 
to Girardot, whence a railroad, 82 miles long, takes 
you to the Sabana of Bogotd. The road was com- 
pleted in 1909, at last fulfilling the long cherished 
hope of the Bogotanos for a route to the sea sans 
mule or horse. One enthusiastic writer, in a serious 
official publication, spoke of the inauguration of the 
line as "the event of most transcendental import- 
ance in our national life since the Independence." 
But the desired practical mercantile results have not 
been produced : there has been no general reduction 
of freight rates ; the road is being run at a loss* j 
it is mortgaged far beyond its actual value, there 
being four series of mortgage bonds aggregating 
1,480,000 ; the interest on the first, third, and 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 99 

fourth mortgages is guaranteed by the Government. 
The second mortgage debenture holders have recently 
obtained the appointment of a Receiver in the 
English Courts. Landslides have been frequent, due 
largely to errors, waste, and false economies in con- 
struction, which have made the cost of maintenance 
relatively enormous, while the gross receipts are 
small $297,291.07 in 1910, only some 12,000 tons 
of freight being carried, more than half the traffic 
still going by way of the old Honda mule-trail and 
by the Camboa cart-road, which also connects the 
Sabana with the Magdalena. To properly recon- 
struct and equip the line, it is estimated that an 
additional 150,000 at least is required. The worst 
feature is that the road is a narrow gauge, 3 -foot 
road, whilst the Sabana line which it joins at Facata- 
tiva is 3 feet 6 inches wide. Blundering, inexcusable 
lack of foresight 1 The owner is the Colombian 
National Railway Company, Ltd., of London, with 
a capital stock of 900,000, one -third of which is 
held by the Colombian Government itself, received 
as a part of the consideration for its guarantee 
of interest on the bonds. The engineering difficulties 
were considerable but not extraordinary : the highest 
grade is 4 per cent, the maximum altitude reached 
a little under 9,000 feet (2,729 metres), Girardot 
being at an altitude of 1,056 feet above sea-level. 
Facatativa, on the tableland of Bogotd, is con- 
nected with that city by the Sabana Railway (25 
miles), one of the three which form the network of 
lines on the Cundinamarcan plateau ; the other two 
are the Northern (del Norte) and Southern (del 
Sur\ and adequately supply the transportation needs 
of that populous section. These railroads, situated 
high up in the Andes, are remarkable as having been 
built before the Sabana was connected with the 
Magdalena : the rails and heavy rolling stock were 
transported almost entirely by mules. The cost can 



100 COLOMBIA 

be imagined the transportation alone of each loco- 
motive cost seven to ten thousand dollars. Of these 
three roads the Government owns outright the Sar 
(15 miles), which it purchased in 1905, a year 
prior to its completion, for approximately 60,000 
($30,000,000 p/m), and holds practically all the 
capital stock in the Sabana Company ; the Norte 
alone (40 miles) is owned and operated by a private 
company, The Colombian Northern Railway Com- 
pany, Ltd. The projected extension of its road to 
Chiquinquira, where it will eventually connect with 
the Puerto Wilches and Bucaramanga line, is in 
the hands of the Colombian Central Railway Com- 
pany, Ltd, (capital, 300,000). It is almost need- 
less to say that the stock capitalization of many of 
these Colombian roads largely represents promoters' 
interests and not actual cash invested, and that the 
bond issues have been placed at very large initial 
discounts. The Sabana railroad is mortgaged by 
the Government for a bonded loan of an authorized 
total of 300,000, but of which, according to the 
latest information I have at hand, only 187,000 
par value of bonds had been placed. The Stir, after 
its purchase by the Government, was transferred to 
an English Company, The Colombian Southern 
Railway, Ltd., but the sale was subsequently 
rescinded. The traffic of the road in 1905 was 
13,200 tons; in 1908, 21,600 tons, 84,190 passen- 
gers, and total gross receipts $54,078.77. The 
Norte makes a better showing : 1905, 18,000 tons ; 
1908, 376,426 passengers (statistics of freight show 
only number of packages, not weights) ; gross receipts 
$223,801.79, four times those of the Star, although: 
the road is only twice as long : it traverses a more 
populous section, and carries the coal and salt from 
the mines at Zipaquira and Nemocdn. The Sabana 
railroad, with only 25 miles, does even better : its 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 101 

380,000 passengers, and total gross receipts 
$228,181.99. 

These railroads, though hard to build, are easy of 
upkeep and operation : the grades are slight ; 
abundant coal is ready at hand ; there is no fear of 
the disastrous freshets and landslides that play havoc 
with the lines that climb the Andean slopes ; and 
it must be said in justice that they give the public 
fair service, and at rates that are if anything in some 
schedules too low. Passenger rates, for instance, 
range from about i cent (3rd class) to 3 cents 
(ist class) a mile ; freight rates, however, are by 
the ton, from 7 cents to 30 cents a mile. 

Before again setting out from Bogotd, let us stop 
to count the changes that we, and our baggage, and 
our merchandise have made to get here from ocean- 
steamer to train, train to river-steamer, again to 
train, once more to river-steamer, thence to train, 
and finally to still another train. At least seven 
times, then (assuming, contrary to fact, that it be 
carried direct from boat to car and car to boat), 
does freight have to be handled to reach its destina- 
tion. The cost? Naturally, stupendous. From 
ocean to capital 600 miles, roughly speaking, 
from thirty to sixty dollars a ton, depending on the 
class of merchandise. 

The Sabana of Bogot, with the usual greater 
liberality that a capital accords to its environs at 
the expense of remoter regions, is well supplied 
with roads some are excellent examples of road- 
making the more part good in the dry, difficult in 
the rainy, season, for which reason perhaps it is 
that the ox-cart prevails ; horses and mules as 
draught animals have not been fully naturalized even 
in this, the most civilized district of our country. 
Arrived at the terminus of the Northern Railway, we 
can travel, too, on the only good road of any con- 
siderable length that Colombia boosts the Gran 



102 COLOMBIA 

Carretera Central del Norte, the Great Central Cart- 
road of the North, which stretches out northwards, 
well graded, well laid, and, until very recently at 
least, well maintained, through the populous towns 
of the departments of Boyaca and! Cundinamarca, 
for a distance of nearly 200 miles. This high- 
jway, like many of the railroads of which we have 
been speaking, owes much to the administration 
of General Reyes, who, as President, had the pleasure 
of traversing it soon after its completion in an 
automobile, going from Bogotd to Santa Rosa in 
five hours. A regular motor-bus service was soon 
after inaugurated between those two places. 

Steeply up and steeply down, over the cross 
ridges of the Eastern Cordillera, but no longer 
over a good road, our mules can reach Bucaramanga, 
the centre of an important coffee district, whose 
inhabitants are longing with eager hopes for the 
completion of a railroad from the Magdalena, start- 
ing at a point called Puerto Wilches. Judging by 
the history of other railways in Colombia and by the 
difficulties, some legal, some political, raised by the 
Government (now happily on the point of settle- 
ment), to say nothing of the usual engineering 
problems and other troubles of Andine construction, 
which have already harassed the concessionaire, the 
Great Central Northern Railway Company, Ltd., of 
London, it may be many a weary year before the 
townspeople of Bucaramanga can desert their mules 
and the boats on the River Lebrija, which they now 
use for descent to the Magdalena. The company 
is organized with a capital stock of 495,000, prac- 
tically all promoters' shares, of which 50,000 were 
assigned to the Government ; it has so far completed 
some I2j miles of track, which is mortgaged along 
with the concession and other property for bond 
issues of 506,760, interest on some of which is 
guaranteed by the Government. The concession 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 103 

includes the privilege, which one day will be most 
valuable, of prolonging the road from Bucaramanga 
to connect with the Ferrocarril del Norte. 

North-eastward, a four or five days* hard ride 
from Bucaramanga, lies Cticuta, where we meet 
with the phenomenon of a city that has not sought 
its outlet via the Magdalena, but is in communica- 
tion with the outer world through Lake Maracaibo : 
the old route was by a mule-road to the River Zulia, 
whose waters, navigable for light-draught steamers, 
flow into the Catatumbo, a Venezuelan river, and 
thence into the so-called lake really a deep sea-gulf 
of Maracaibo. At the Catatumbo passengers and 
freight are transferred to larger boats which 
transfer to ocean-steamers at the port of Maracaibo. 
The voyage from the Zulia, at Puerto Villamizar, to 
Maracaibo usually takes about three days. The 
distance from' .Cticuta to the Zulia River by the 
old road was only about 35 miles, and rail- 
road connection was established as early, for 
Colombia, as 1888. Later the same company, which 
is made up entirely of local capital and in which 
the municipality of Cticuta is owner of a one-third 
interest, constructed a branch to the Venezuelan 
frontier 10 miles long, making the total mile- 
age 47 miles. In spite of adverse conditions 
created by the building of a nearby railroad in 
Venezuela, which diverted considerable traffic, and 
by the unfavourable, at times hostile and prohibitive, 
attitude of the Venezuelan Government towards 
Colombian trade, the company has managed to hold 
its own financially, has paid dividends, - and has 
reduced its bonded indebtedness from 120,000 to 
57>300. The traffic in 1905 was 13,500 tons, 
in 1911, 20,722 tons. 

At the time of writing, Cticuta is undergoing a 
rather severe financial crisis, but the effect on the 
railroad is only temporary ; a more severe menace, 



104 COLOMBIA 

however, is the project, advanced as much" from 
patriotic and political motives as from financial, to 
construct a road from Cticuta, through or with a 
branch to Ocafia, to the lower Magdalena at 
Tamalameque. 

It is a long detour we have taken. Let us hurry 
back a privilege the printed page only, not the 
actual facts, can extend the traveller to Girardot, 
to wend our way to the south. 

.We have a choice of two routesto the luxury- 
lovers a choice of two evils. Steam navigation as 
far as Neiva, not very regular as the .river is nojwi 
become increasingly difficult, is provided by the same 
steamship combine that controls the traffic on the 
lower Magdalena ; I and we can go still a little 
farther up the river in a champan. The typical 
champan, characteristic of the Magdalena and not 
yet entirely superseded even where it meets the com- 
petition of steam, is really a large stoutly built raft, 
with its central part covered by an arch of palm 
leaves thatched on bent bamboos. It is propelled 
by poling ; the pilots or bogus are skilled in their 
knowledge of the river, taking advantage of the most 
favourable currents ; when going against the stream 
they will usually cling to the shore, where the rush! 
of water is not so swift. The embarkation bestrided 
by the steadily working bogas often chanting their 
own rude poetry in rhythmical cadences, and thrown 
in bold relief against the dense riotous Vegetation 
of the river-bank, presents a picturesque scene that 
enchants both eye and ear. 

But beauty is not comfort : travelling for a few 
days on a champan, it will be readily conceived, is 
not the height of luxury. The traveller is glad to 
disembark and betake himself to a saddle, however 
execrable the road. The road to Popayan is an 
old one, dating from the days of the Spaniards and 
1 The Perez Rosa line has also recently put a boat in operation. 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 105 

the Indians, and has scarcely been improved. The 
Central Cordillera is crossed at the Paramo de 
Guanacas, then one goes through the Paramo de 
Coconucos on to Popayan : the journey 'from Neiva 
usually consumes about seven to ten days. 

The better route is to go from Girardot to Ibagu<, 
thence crossing the Central Cordillera by the famous 
Quindio Pass and descending to the Cauca Valley 
at Cartago. This route yields perhaps the most 
interesting variety of climate and of scenery in all 
Colombia : first comes the level stretch of hot 
llanos, vast cattle plains, of the Ma:gdalena Valley : 
then we rise easily to the clean, picturesquely situated 
town of Ibagu6, to which place it is planned to 
lay rails there are some 15 miles already down 
(Ferrocarril del Tolinia, recently purchased by the 
Government) from Girardot. Soon after leaving 
Ibagu6 on our mules we enter the 'Qmndio road, 
whose bad name, inherited from the past, is to-day 
not deserved : it compares favourably with other 
mule-roads in Colombia, and, if one is travelling in 
the dry season, nothing can be more delightful than 
the constantly varying scenery encountered ; here, 
dipping down into a delightful little valley, formed 
by a sparkling rivulet whose banks are edged with 
cane, bamboo, and tropical trees, interwreathed with 
twining vines ; there, circling a mountain-side and 
looking across at a vast amphitheatre where the 
striking vegetation, in wild profusion, is the gigantic 
wax-palm, that towers sometimes to a height of 
100 feet ; then reaching the level of the oak 
and other trees of the temperate zone, or still 
higher, at an altitude of 10,000 or 1 1,000 feet, 
the paramos, bare of all vegetation save low shrubs, 
which might be desolate were it not for the magni- 
ficent mountain scenery, with the occasional view of 
the glorious snow-peaks of the Central Cordillera. 

At times the road is poor : now and then, cut into 



106 COLOMBIA 

the solid rock of the mountain-side, towering sheer 
hundreds of feet above you, while a precipice yawns 
threateningly on the other side, it may narrow down 
to a scant yard or two in width ; it may, for a short 
distance, climb at an angle of almost forty-five 
degrees, with the roughest cobble paving for 
security against the mules slipping ; or in a stretch 
of alluvial soil, the ruts worn by the constant tread 
of the animals in the same spot have worn deep 
narrow trenches, characteristic of Andean roads, 
against the sides of which one's knees will knock 
roughly if constant vigilance be not exercised - 9 
worse yet, these trenches will not be continuous, -but 
will be interrupted by mounds over which the mules 
have continually stepped, sinking the road-bed 1 deeper 
and deeper by the iterated stamping of their hoofs in 
the same hollow, till deep excavations are formed, 
which in the rainy reason are pools filled with the 
most appalling mud. Such is a fair picture 
applicable to many a stretch of so-called road in 
Colombia. 

The ** hotel accommodations " on the way are 
poor, of course ; one stops at the usual shanty and 
takes such fare as one can get, a sancocho or arepas, 
eked out with the foods prudentially brought along. 
It is in such passes as the Quindio, too, when one 
reaches the paramos, thousands of feet in altitude 
and far above the clouds, that one experiences the 
rigorous cold of the tropics. The temperature at 
night is nearly always below forty; degrees ; occa- 
sionally it drops to freezing-point, and one feels it 
all the more after a sojourn in the hot loiwlands. 
No amount of clothing then seems adequate. 
Travellers will remember the bitter cold nights 
they have passed in the paramos. Although I have 
attempted in this book to eliminate those merely 
personal incidents that, lacking the master's touch, 
render so many books of travel wearisome, I cannot 




SALENTO. 




1BACJUE IX THE DISTAXCK. 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 107 

refrain from mentioning my night's lodging in the 
Quindio one New Year's Eve, because it is in some 
respects typical of many of the shanties that do duty 
for inns along Colombian highways. The little hut 
was one of the well-known stopping-places on the 
trail. I had the good fortune to secure a room to 
myself, just big enough to contain my cot, my ** boy " 
stretching himself out on the threshold. In the 
corner was a bundle of ill-smelling hides, and sus- 
pended from the low ceiling were ropes of dried 
meat, which dangled a few inches above the cot, 
so that every time I raised my head I felt a greasy 
swipe. And the bitter cold ! At least, it felt cold, 
after one's blood had been thinned in the lowlands. 
The unpatched wooden walls let in every icy wind. 
With all my woollen clothing on, besides a raana 
or coarse woollen mantle, a rug, and my poncho over 
or; under me, and spite of aid from my brandy-flask, 
I still could not keep warm. And this within a few 
degrees of the Equator 1 

But if you cannot withstand such petty discomforts 
for the sake of the ever-shifting panorama of snow- 
peaks, rugged mountains, cosy valleys, smiling wood- 
lands, trim little villages, then you are not worthy 
to be exhilarated by the sun-kissed winds of the 
Andes or soothed by the languorous tropical moon- 
light of the lower lands, or to partake of the open- 
handed hospitality which will greet you. 

The Quindio mule-trail, after crossing the divide 
of the Central Cordillera and passing the clean, 
thriving hamlets which the industrious sons of 
Antioquia are rapidly colonizing, leads down to 
Cartago in the Cauca Valley, a four or five days* 
ride from Girardot. Here one connects with the 
old ** royal highway/ 1 also nothing but a mule-trail, 
exception made of a better stretch here and there, 
that leads northward to Manizales and Medellin, 
three and five days* distant respectively, and south- 



108 COLOMBIA 

ward through tKe Cauca Valley and the southern 
tablelands of Popayan and Pasto to the frontier and 
on to Quito, the capital of Ecuador, if one wishes 
to visit that country and ride on the newly completed 
railroad from Guayaquil to Quito. 

On the first lap of the journey south you can 
rest, if you want to, from the saddle and take instead 
one of the Cauca River steamers : there are three 
small modern boats, operated by the local Campania 
de Navegacidn 'del Rio Cauca (capital $180,000), 
which do a good business, when the river is not too 
low for travel, plying to and from Cali, a distance 
of 120 miles on the river from Cartago. Call is the 
prospective terminus for the present, at least of the 
3 -foot gauge railroad from the Pacific port of 
Buenaventura another unfinished line whose vicis- 
situdes and misfortunes date back over forty years. 
The road is now operated, and construction is being 
rapidly pushed forward by a native company, the 
Campania "del Ferrocarril del Paciftco (paid up 
capital $854,000), of which the Banco Central is 
the principal shareholder; a loan of 119,200, 
placed at 86, was recently obtained in England. 
Under the liberal contract from the Government, one 
half of the customs receipts of the ports of Buena- 
ventura and Tumaco are turned over to the company 
in payment of the subsidies to which it is entitled ; 
so it is confidentially hoped 1 , and with every show of 
reason, that the line will be completed to Qali next 
year. 1 Eighty -three m41es have been constructed, the 
highest point of the pass has been reached, and 
only 25 miles more are needed! to descend to 
Cali. The importance of this railway, once the 
Panama Canal is opened, can hardly be over- 
estimated ; but its present feeble locomotives and 
light rails would 1 be wholly inadequate for tbte traffife 

1 Since the above was written, disastrous freshets have occurred, 
destroying part of the completed road and delaying new work. 



TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION 109 

that should be developed, especially if the extensive 
coal deposits near Cali prove, upon working, to be as 
rich and valuable as optimistic reports claim them 
to be. 

From Cali one can proceed by mule-roads, a 
three or four days* ride on either side of the Cauca 
Valley, to Popayan, which has recently been placed 
in direct communication with the Pacific Ocean by 
a trail to the small port of Micay, but traffic still 
prefers the old route, as only launches or occasional 
sailing vessels touch at Micay. From Popayan to 
Pasto, near the Ecuadorian frontier, is another week's 
ride on poor roads. Pasto is an important city with 
a large Indian population, whose development, like 
that of so many other Colombian towns, is retarded 
by lack of facile communication with the coast. 
Ordinarily it is reached from the port of Tumaco, 
on the Pacific, by launches or canoes to Barbacoas, 
and thence by mule, a six or seven days' trip.. 

Buenaventura and Tumaco are the only Colombian 
ports of any importance on the Pacific. Apart from 
occasional tramp steamers and sailing vessels and the 
regular but infrequent visits of the German Kosmos 
liners, they are served exclusively, and anything but 
well, by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company with 
fortnightly sailings (when they adhere to the 
schedule) to and from Panama. The boats on this 
coasting line, far different from those run by the 
same company to Peru and Chile, do little credit 
to the British flag. It is to be hoped that the Royal 
Mail Steamship Company, Ltd., which, it is said, has 
recently acquired control of the Pacific Steam, will 
run better boats, reduce the exorbitantly high freights 
and passage rates, and generally improve the service, 
even before the opening of the canal. That event, 
at least, is bound to assure good shipping facilities 
to this coast. 

But here we are arrived! at the Pacific Otean. 



110 COLOMBIA 

By mountain mule, often knee-deep in mud, or by 
lagging lowland horse under a blazing tropical sun, 
by river -steamers and dug-out canoes, by train over 
swamps, through jungle or on the slopes of dizzy 
precipices, it is a long journey we have made, patient 
reader ; we must needs be fatigued, and merit the 
repose of a closed chapter. 



CHAPTER VIII 
ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS 

A GLANCE at the map and a review of the last 
chapter will show that the few hundred miles of 
railways already built or under way in Colombia 
not only do not form any connected group, but with 
rare exceptions will not even serve as links for any 
future national or international system that may be 
constructed. 

iWorse yet, with the exception of the lines on 
the Sabana, the railways depend almost wholly for 
freight on exports and imports ; their local trade 
is utterly insignificant, and some of these lines, con- 
structed at great sacrifices, seem doomed to failure, 
perhaps to become rusty relics overgrown with weeds 
or encroached upon by tropical jungle, when really 
efficient transportation by more direct, more solid 
and cheaper routes is eventually furnished, unless, 
indeed, the domestic interchange of products assumes 
proportions that are to be scarcely looked for. Take 
for instance the Girardot Railway : its great abject 
was to furnish more facile communication between 
the capital and the coast. The same amount of 
money represented by its securities and spent or 
wasted by the Government during its long history 
could doubtless have gone very far, wisely and 
economically handled, towards building a railroad 
to the sea, or at least to a part of the Magdalena, 



112 COLOMBIA 

not more than 200 miles or so from the mouth', that 
is really navigable and not merely so by courtesy, as 
is the rest of the stream. The Magdalena is not, in 
its present condition at least, fit to be a great shipping 
channel it is not for a moment to be compared 
as a commercial highway with the great rivers of 
America, the Mississippi, the St. Uawrence, Amazon, 
and River Plate, nor even with those of secondary 
rank like the Hudson, the Columbia, the Orinoco, and 
never will be their equal. Its utility, actual or latent, 
is limited, and to have staked the early railroad- 
building energies of the nation, and largely its 
pecuniary resources, too, on establishing connection 
with this frail artery, of trade without any serious 
attempt to improve its navigability, has been Eolly, 
iWaste, Crime, The money spent, too, on the Carta- 
gena and Barranquilla railways and on the projects 
for extension of the Santa Marta why not havfe spent 
this or part of this, and a small part would have 
sufficed, in improving the mouth of the Magdalena 
so as to make it accessible to ocean -steamers? At 
present vessels rarely dare to hazard the dangerous 
entrance. iWhy, indeed, but for the selfishness, short- 
sightedness, or jealousies of other local interests? 

And what permanent assurance of trade can a 
railway have if it does not -possess feeders? Yet 
what attempts have been made to build good roads 
that would furnish even nearby sections access to 
the tracks? Had one-half of thfe money that -has 
been ill-spent on rail projects never carried throug;h, 
on prejudiced surveys, on graft, on construction so 
poor that rebuilding was required, on claims for 
alleged breaches of contract, etc., been expended in 
supplying good wagon-roads, it is probable that many 
sections of the country, would have so develop-ed 
and progressed, revolutions notwithstanding, that a 
crying, need for railroads, with certainty of their 
profitable operation, would have arisen such a cry 



ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS 113 

as to compel the ear of capitalists who would be 
eager to satisfy the need. 

But no 1 we must needs march in the vanguard 
of civilization before we can creep. Result : 600 
miles of provisional track for a population of five 
millions and 400,000 square miles, and Colombia's 
railroading must still needs be done all over again, 
sooner or later, and the sooner the better. 

Subsidies for railroad building have been given, 
and generously. But apparently no one in Colombia 
has ever stopped to consider the very obvious fact 
that railroads do not create traffic ; that in and by 
themselves they do not develop a country, but simply 
allow free play for development for otherwise hope- 
lessly hampered individual energies and initiative ; 
that they are merely a condition, indispensable, it 
is true, but still merely a condition, an attendant 
circumstance and requisite, but not a cause of trade 
improvement, of increased circulation, of greater 
wealth and progress. 

Subsidies have been necessary in the past and 
still are, because of the fact that the present freight 
movement of Colombia is too small in and by itself 
to warrant railroad enterprise. Nothing can better 
show this than thp table of statistics printed on the 
following pages, compiled laboriously from sources 
here and sources there. 1 For its incompleteness or 
even for possible errors I do not apologize any 
one who has had occasion to collect statistics in 
Colombia will appreciate the difficulty of the task. 

These figures, covering as they do the cream of 
the transportation business, show conclusively that 
Government aid is essential. But the Government 

1 I may mention Jalhay: La Ripubliquc de, Colombia (Brussels, 
1909) ; the publications of the Department of Public Works, and 
reports kindly furnished me by one or two of tike railways, notably 
the Barranquilla, the Santa Marta, the Amaga, the Patiftco, and 

the Girardot 

9 



114 



COLOMBIA 



RAILROAD 



NAME. 


LENGTH. 


UTSTANDING 

SHARES. 


OUTSTANDING 
BONDS. 


PASSENGER RATES. 
(Per Kilometre.) 
(CoL Gold.) 


isL 


2nd. 


3rd. 


Amaga 


Kilos. 
24 


lies. 
15 


|i,ooo,ooo 


None. 


$ 

0.025 


$ 

0.02 


$ 
0.01 


Antioquia 


135' 


85 


ft577,i4 a 


None. 


0.02 


0.01 


0.005 


Barranquillas... 


27 


18 


200,000 


100,000(6%) 


0.026 


0.016 


None. 


Cartagena ... 


105 


65 


750,000 


600,000(5%) 


0.024 


0.014 





Cauca [Pacifico] 


I34 4 


85 


$854,000 


119,200(5%) 


0.02 


0.015 





Cucuta 


71 


45 





53,700 


0,036 s 


0.0155 





La Dorada ... 
Girardot 


114 
132 


73 
82 


350.000 
900,000 


35o,ooo 
1,480,000(6%) 


0.016 

7(0-033 

\0.022 


None. 

0.026 
0.017 


0.005 
0.017 

O.OII 


Norte ... . 


62 


39 


600,000 


180,000 


0.03 


0.02 


0.01 


Puerto Wilches 


20 


12 


495,000 


506,760(7%) 


(Not in 


operat 


ion.) 


Sabana ... 


40 


2 5 


8 


187,000 


0.02 


0.015 


O.OI 


Santa Marta .. 


131 


82 


359)ioo M 


186,400(6%) 


0.014 


0.008 


0.0015 


Sur 


30 


19 


$300,000" 


65,000(84% 


0.015 


0.0125 





Tolima 


25 


15 


$30,000' 


None. 


(Not in 


opera 


ion.) 


Totals 


I050 


660 





3,829,060 








- 



1 1 12 kilos in operation. . 

' Owned by the Department This figure is cost to date (exclusive 
to contractors) to National Government. 

s Statistics for fiscal year ending June 30, 1911. Government report for 
ending December 31 gives receipts, $207,863 ; expenses, $I38,577 

4 ico kilos in operation. 

s Silver money. 

6 Converted into gold at 235. Exclusive of tramway. 



ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS 115 



STATISTICS, 1911 



FREIGHT RATES. 
(Per Ton. Kilometre.} 


PASSENGERS 
CARRIED. 


TONS or 
FREIGHT 
CARRIED. 


GROSS 
RECEIPTS. 


WORKING 

EXPENSES. 


IMPORTS. | EXPORTS. 
(CoL Gold.) 


$ 

0.10 


$ 

0.08 


365,007 


796 


*44>526 


- 1 - 
(Not reported.) 


0.20 


0.15 


57422 


20,544 


*363,932 


$287,595 


0.13 


0.084 


166,026 


91,969 


$264,582 


$133,653 


0.045 


0.045 


394^9 


45,121 


189.588 





0.20 


0.15 


11,727 


12,508 


$190,965 


tefiftotf 


0.6365 


0.2725 


112,871 


20,772 


$2I2,I20 6 


$113,565* 


0.20 


0.14 


99,991 


56,895 


$355,024 


$193,519 


0.281 
0-187 


o-:5} 7 

0,10 J 


95>6o5 


29,161 


$382,714 


$293,307 


0.16 


0.08 


119,026 


58490 


$222,525 


(Not reported,) 


0.12 


0.06 


276,474 


64>35i 


$-263,203 


$136,367 


0.08 


0.06 


170,047 


[ 10,579 1 
tii6,7o8 ia [ 


84,100" 


73,586" 


0.105 


0.08 


82,180 


31,196 


$64,141 


(Not reported.) 








1495,805 


567,690 









* Upper line, mountain ; lower line, valley rates. 

8 Owned by the Government 

9 Includes 10 miles private lines connecting with the railroad 

10 200,000 ordinary, 159,160 7% preferred. 

u Nine months ending September 30. Government report for calendar year 
gives receipts, $5i3>937 J expenses, $618,974. 
30 Bananas. 
"* Owned by the Government This Egure is price paid by the Government. 



116 COLOMBIA 

has only done half its duty when it grants the rail- 
road contractor a subsidy. Equally essential is it 
that it spend a proportionate amount in building 
and improving roads and in directly fomenting (a 
word much used in those Spanish American coun- 
tries where it is least exemplified) the agricultural 
and other industries, and promoting the coloniza- 
tion of the sparsely settled tracts within the radius 
of usefulness of the subsidized railroad. 

Some Colombians dream that their country can 
enter the kingdom of Steel without the aid of the 
foreigner, but the contrary proposition would seem 
to require little argitfnent. It is inevitable that 
foreign capital be called 1 upon for the purpose. 
Foreign companies must continue, as in the past, to 
construct and operate the railways, or at least foreign 
investors must, as bankers and bondholders, supply 
the bulk of the capital. In either case, the writer 
has been reluctantly forced to the conclusion that 
investment in prospective Colombian railways (ex- 
cept reliance be placed mainly in a Government 
guarantee) is unwise, unless either the Government 
gives assurance that it will perfortn: its 'whole 'duty and 
not merely the subsidy half, or unless the railroad 
company is strong enough financially, and its stock- 
holders patient enough to enable it to do that which 
is in large part properly the function of the Govern- 
ment. If the Government is not, then the company 
itself should be, prepared to build wagon-roads, 
advertise and propagandize, attract colonists, and 
encourage agriculture and industry by teaching im- 
proved methods and even by loaning funds. 

I have permitted myself to dwell at some length 
*>n these points because, as I have already said, 
Colombia's railroading has to be commenced anew, 
and consequently the country offers an almost virgin 
field for the railway operator and! financier. 

As to existing roads : one or two perhaps are 



ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS 117 

destined to disappear : nearly all the others will have 
to be made over, wider gauge, double tracking, 
heavier rails, better grading, stronger safeguards 
against the inclemencies of Nature, firmer road-beds, 
improved equipment and rolling stock these are or 
will be soon required on most ways. A current 
joke, supposed to be a colloquy between two pas- 
sengers, illustrates the character of many an Andine 
road-bed to-day : " iWe seem to be going more 
smoothly " " Yes, we are off the track now." 

As to future roads : it takes more of a prophet 
than any writer can with safety pretend to be to 
foretell on what lines the railroad system of the future 
will develop so many forces come into play, in the 
guise of political and local influences, changed con- 
ditions, and purely adventitious circumstances. No 
more can be done than to set down the tendencies 
indicated by present clamours, and the routes, 
not necessarily coincident with those clamours, 
indicated by a study of physical and commercial 
geography. 

A reason of international politics, the desire to 
be in a position both to readily protect the frontier 
in case of need and to be liberated from the bondage 
to Venezuela imposed by the Zulia and Maracaibo 
route, is creating a strong demand for a railway from 
C6cuta to the Magdalena River. Rough preliminary 
surveys have been made to the river -port of Tama- 
lameque. This line would open up much good agri- 
cultural land, materially reduce, it is claimed, the 
tolls now paid by Cdcuta merchants, and if con- 
nected through Bucaramanga to BogotA, would fur- 
nish a better route from the outer world to the capital 
district than either the present ways or the Great 
Central Northern line now building, as it would reach 
a part of the river better from a shipping standpoint 
than is Puerto Wllches. It is said steamers of 800 
tons could reach Tamalameque. Moreover, so con* 



118 COLOMBIA 

nected, this road could furnish the nucleus for a 
respectable trunk line that could be prolonged eventu- 
ally to the sea, connected with the Santa Marta, or, 
crossing the Magdalena, with the Barranquilla or 
Cartagena roads ; in the latter case run through with 
branches to the more important regions, like 
Sincelejo and El Carmen, of the cattle plains of the 
department of Bolivar. 

More promising, however, is the outlook for the 
prolongation of the Cauca railroad that is soon to 
cross the .Western Cordillera from the Pacific. There 
is no section of Colombia that lends itself so readily, 
and at such low cost to railroad building as that 
part of the Cauca River basin known so distinctively 
throughout Colombia as the valley par excellence 
that it is called simply El Valle, and it is a section 
at the same time that is already, as things go in 
that country, well developed, though there is still 
opportunity to increase its agricultural and pastoral 
wealth a hundredfold. This forms a section of the 
great Pan-American Railway scheme. The engineers 
of that monumental survey estimated the cost of con- 
struction of the part we are now speaking of at 
$16,000 a mile from Call south to La Balsa, 47 
miles, and as low as $13,000 a mile from Call 
north to Cartago, 124 miles. 1 Following the line 
of t&e Pan-American survey, south through the im- 
portant towns of Popayan and Pasto and to Quito 
in Ecuador (440 miles, estimated cost $32,000 a 
mile) and north through the department of Antioquia 
to the sea (Cartago to Poblarjco, loo miles, $32,000 
a mile ; Poblanco to Antioquia, 70 miles, $24,000 
a mile ; Antioquia to Cartagena, 374 miles, $22,500 
a mile), we would have a great international trunk 

* This section is now served by the Cauca River steamers, but 
during a protracted dry season these boats are left high and dry. 
South of La Bolsa, the river is too small, and north of Puerto Dagua 
till again well in Antioquia, too rapid, for navigation. 




I 



tt 



ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS 119 

line through the central western portion of Colombia, 
one of the richest mining and agricultural regions 
throughout the whole world. Probably more 
advisable would be a deviation from this plan : north 
from Cartago through Manizales, then to connect 
with the now advancing Amagd line to Medellin, 
thence north to the sea, not to Cartagena but by a 
shorter route, as proposed in the Granger concession, 
to the Gulf of Uraba (Darien), where extensive port 
improvements are being made by a German com- 
pany in connection with banana cultivation. The 
only dubious thing about this plan is that it would 
entail about 200 miles through forest and jungle, 
uninhabited and undeveloped, remote from any work 
of civilized man, and little likely to be rapidly built 
up. But such an interoceanic trunk line, with one 
arm at Buenaventura and one running into Ecuador, 
and terminating on the Caribbean at either Carta- 
gena or Uraba, it is reasonably safe to say will one 
day come, though perhaps not in the next decades. 
It could, when necessities, governmental or of intra- 
national trade justified, be connected across some 
pass in the Central Cordillera with the Magdalena 
Valley : r the jQuindio route would seem as 
favourable as any yet known, effecting a junc- 
tion at Ibagu6 with the proposed Tolima Railway 
from Girardot. In this connection it is interest- 
ing to note that preliminary work is now being 
pursued for an aerial railway from Manizales to 
Mariquita, a station on the Dorada Extension line, 
with a branch to the rich Zancudo silver mines at 
Titiribi. The work is being; done by a German 
engineering firm for the Dorada Company. 

Other railways are in the air, but very much " in 
the air." Of these, bare mention will suffice. They 

* The Cauca Railroad Company has, since the above was written, 
entered into a contract with the Government to prolong its line to 
Girardot, but Congress failed to take action. 



120 COLOMBIA 

all possess the intrinsic merit of being really needed 
either by local necessities or for the development 
of the country or for military purposes, but there 
is little likelihood of much attention being devoted 
to them while there are more pressing needs to 
satisfy. Of this nature are lines from Pasto to the 
sea, the desirability of which would be largely 
obviated by the prolongation of the Cauca road ; 
from Medellin, following the Nechi River to 
Zaragoza, from which place navigation is more con- 
stantly better than from Puerto Berrio, but the con- 
struction of the one railway will probably stifle the 
other, though better, route ; from the Sabana of 
Bogotd down to the lianas of the Meta, a very short 
distance ; a line in the upper Magdalena Valley, 
in level country, comparatively cheap to build the 
desirability of a railway thence across the Eastern 
Cordillera at some southerly point, to mobilize troops 
at the menaced southern frontier, is recognized, but 
the nation stands aghast and consequently inert at 
the vast cost and the exiguity of traffic. Concessions 
have also been granted in recent years, but have 
lapsed, for railroads in the Goajira from Rio 
Hacha around by Valle Dupar to the inevitable 
Magdalena and from the Norte Railway through 
Tunja to Sogamoso ; and in Remoter periods 
still other concessions were granted which; never 
hatched much' more than pdpel settado and 
oratory. 

Pursuant to Law 104 of 1892, which is still in 
force, the Executive Department is authorized without 
the necessity of further confirmatory legislation to 
grant railroad concessions and subsidies within the 
prescribed limits. 

The subsidy may be either (a) a grant of public 
lands of not more than 300 hectares and a sum 1 not 
exceeding $10,000 gold, payable in 6 per cent, 
bonds, for each kilometre of railway opened! to public 



ANOTHER WORD ON RAILROADS 121 

service. The bonds issued under this law are amor- 
tizable by 10 per cent, of the gross product of 
customs collections of all ports in the Republic ; or 

(&) A guarantee for twenty years of interest at a 
rate not exceeding 7 per cent, on the capital actually 
invested not greater than $30,000 per kilometre of 
equipped road. If the road's net income should, 
however, during three consecutive years be sufficient 
to cover the interest guaranteed, the Government's 
obligation terminates once for all, regardless of future 
earnings. 

The concessions may be for terms of one hundred 
years, the Government having the right to purchase 
for cash at any time after fifty years at the appraised 
valuation and after seventy-five years at one-half of 
such valuation. At the expiration of the full term, 
the railway with its equipment and rolling stock, all 
to be in good condition, becomes the property of the 
Government without payment. 

Some of the concessions have been even more 
liberal than the terms of this law. For instance, the 
original Puerto Wilches contract guaranteed 7 per 
cent, per annum on the sum of $40,000 a kilometre ; 
the guarantee for the Santa Marta extension is ex- 
tended to twenty-five years ; for building the Cauca 
or Pacific Railroad, the "Government pays as high in 
the most mountainous part as $65,333 a kilometre 
and in the easier parts $38,000 or $40,000, and pay- 
ment is secured by 50 per cent, of the gross customs 
collections of Buenaventura and Tumaco an amount 
that reaches half a million dollars a year and is paid 
punctually every month. Such have been the sub- 
sidies granted in the past ; they furnish a clue to 
what may reasonably be asked for new lines. Save 
one point the spreading doctrine of Government 
Ownership. The customary system of granting con- 
cessions, which tend to come into the hands of 
foreigners, has been assailed both on practical and 



122 COLOMBIA 

on political grounds, 1 it being urged that the Govern- 
ment should undertake either direct or by contract 
all new work solely for its own account and risk. 
The movement for the nationalization of railways 
present and future is gaining headway it is part of 
the programme of the Liberal party, but it is more 
than doubtful whether, even if the doctrine gained 
ascendancy, financial impediments would not effec- 
tively block its carrying out. But even defeat will 
have its victory ; at least this will be gained the 
experience of other countries will be availed of andi 
monopolistic franchises, that before their expiration 
would become extremely valuable and possibly grip 
the very life out of the people, will no longer be 
freehandedly given away. 

1 Notably by Perez Triana in Desde Lejos> 1907 : there is a sub- 
stantial basis of truth in his arguments, but it would seem from the 
practical side that promoters and concessionaires cannot yet be 
eliminated : contrary to the assumption of Senor Perez Triana, 
bankers in the great financial marts, to whom it is admitted resort 
must be had, would rather deal with a responsible and reliable 
concessionaire than with the direct representatives of the Govern- 
ment. The initiative, energy, and resourcefulness of the genuine 
pioneer railroad builder cannot find any substitute among mere 
Government employees* But extreme care should be taken by the 
Government that it grant contracts only to trustworthy parties and 
not, as it has unfortunately too frequently done in the past, to 
the first slick promoter and adventurous concession-hunter who 
happened to come along. 



CHAPTER IX 



COMMERCE 

COLOMBIA'S foreign commerce is insignificant com- 
pared to that of some other Spanish American 
countries, whose population is but little greater, like 
Argentina, or even less, like Cuba and Chile ; but 
when we consider the lack of inland transportation 
facilities, the surprising thing is not that she has so 
little foreign commerce, but that she has so much. 

The slow but constant growth of her international 
business, interrupted only by political disturbance 
or financial crises such as we considered in a previous 
chapter, is shown by the following statistics : 



1832 
1842 

1855 
1865 
1870 
1880 
1885 
1895 



EXPORTS. 
Dollars. 

1,236,850 
2,386,967 



6,772,017 
8,247,817 



IMPORTS, 

Dollars. 

1,454,142 
3423,288 
4,168,468 
7,897,206 



12,121480 



1909 
1910 
I9II 



14,171,241 
15,088,316 
12,314,916 
14,998,744 

16,040,198 

17,786,806 
22,375,899 



11,523,222 
12,281,720 

13613,891 
12,117,927 

17*385.039 
18,108,863 



The Colombians are not a nation of shopkeepers ; 
the very strong restrictions placed oa commerce 



124 COLOMBIA 

during the colonial days prevented 1 tKe transmission 
of any heritage of business aptitude. Fortunately, no 
social prejudice against trade has come down the 
generations ; men of the best families engage freely, 
in business, and it is not uncommon to see even those 
who have occupied high political station tending their 
own little shops and none to think the worse of them 1 . 

And little shops they are apt to be. The day of 
" big business " has not yet arrived in Colombia. 
The wholesaler will have his retail store attached or 
combined, and will also be a buyer for export busi- 
ness specializing has not been carried far. The 
bulk of the business is done by what we may call 
general stores, which are alike exporters and im- 
porters, wholesale distributors and retailers. Many 
such firms are made up of foreigners, permanently 
settled in the country, or of merchants of foreign 
parentage. Among them, the Germans are conspicu- 
ous. As for the Colombians themselves, it is not 
unusual for those who have shown marked ability for 
trade and have amassed some capital to seek larger 
fields ; coming to Europe or the United States, they 
engage as factors and commission merchants and, 
availing themselves of their connections at home, 
secure a considerable share of the Colombian 
business* 

With the exception of bananas from Santa Marta 
and a few specialities, practically all commodities 
from Colombia are consigned to the commission 
houses of the United States and Europe : New York, 
London, and Hamburg being, in the order named, the 
principal markets. Even a large part of the gold 
and silver product goes to the same firms. Of the 
exports, far the most important is coffee, of which 
two-thirds goes to the United States, the remainder 
being divided chiefly between England and France 
and Germany. The larger planters ship direct to 
the commission merchants, to whom they are often 




T- 

S 



E 
'J 



COMMERCE 125 

indebted for advances ; the smaller will sell to the 
general stores, which finance the purchases by 60 
and go-day drafts on the commission houses. The 
competition to get the crops is keen. The country 
is often well scoured by the agents of the local 
dealers in search of advantageous deals with the 
small planter. These local dealers may be indepen- 
dent, but more often they are in very close relation- 
ship to, if not actually the purchasing agents of the 
foreign houses, many of which, in addition, own a 
number of plantations which they have taken over 
for debts. 

Besides coffee, the principal exports are the 
precious metals, which go to England, France, and 
the States, and hides and skins, of which the United 
States is the chief consumer, as it is also of bananas, 
Panama hats so-called, rubber, cacao, woods, and 
drugs. Germany supplies the leading market for 
the Colombian tobacco, vegetable ivory and dividivi 
pods (used for tanning), and Cuba for five cattle. 
Other export products are insignificant in quantity 
and value and scattered, except emeralds, of which 
several hundred thousand dollars* worth are exported 
annually to Europe, for account of the Government. 

The following statistics of the principal exports are 
given for the year 1911 s 

Kilograms. Dollars. 

Coffee ... 37,899,968 valued at 9,475,448.89 

Gold ... 10,574 3*751^^37 

Hides ... 4*449*475 i>77979- 2 * 

Rubber ... 57 6 ;7 <5 900,886.90 

Ivory nuts 10,989,605 7394*9 

Bananas 109,785,748 2,172,000 

Tobacco 3,911,012 33^,935 

Hats 93,874 1,088,821 

Platinum 2,554 345^ 



The United States generally leads also in exports 
to Colontfna, shipping principally mining, agpicul- 



126 COLOMBIA 

tural, and electrical machinery, iron and steel 
products, hardware, flour, wheat, cement, patent 
medicines, railway rolling stock, lard, illuminating 
oils ; on account of its proximity, it competes 
advantageously with Europe also in clothing and 
furnishings, in England's old stand-by, cotton 
goods and cloth, in toilet articles, news and wrap- 
ping paper, furniture, shoes, musical instruments, and 
stationery. 

Great Britain ships iron and steel products, railroad 
material, textiles ($4,202,733), railroad machinery, 
fuel, wines, liquors, and bottled waters, etc., to a 
total value of $5,838,789 in 1811, which is slightly 
ahead of the total in the same year for the United; 
States, $5,404,975*; Germany, principally cereals, 
wines, beer, and soft drinks, tools, china and glass, 
paper and pasteboard and textiles, to a total of 
$3,242,634 ; the principal items in France's 
$1,718,747 for the same year (1911) were wines, 
drugs and medicines, and clothing ; Spain is a close 
second in wines, which constituted nearly half of her 
total exports to Colombia of $397,733. The detailed 
statistics of exports and imports for 1911 are offici- 
ally given as shown in the tables following. 

The same commission houses that receive and 
sell Colombia's products naturally control a large 
share of the purchases made by that country abroad. 
More and more are jobbers, as in Manchester, or 
manufacturers, but not always with financial success, 
attempting to eliminate the commission house and 
do business direct. Only a very few, however, have 
hitherto maintained their own offices or carried stock 
in Colombia with managers or employees sent from 
the home office or factory. The volume of possible 
business does not as a rule warrant such expense. 
Usually agents are selected from among native or 
foreign merchants already established in Colombia, 
who will often combine a number of agencies besides 



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130 COLOMBIA 

handling their own business, arid are not, therefore, 
in a position to give as much attention to any one 
agency as might be desirable. On the other hand, 
many manufacturers, especially those in the United 
States, are offenders in the illiberal treatment they 
accord their agents. They will often refuse to grant 
them an agency unless the proposed agent makes 
a large initial purchase, they will not extend credits, 
permit stock to be carried, nor ship goods on con- 
signment. European houses are generally generous 
in these respects : credits are not infrequently given 
for six months and even a year, and ninety days 
is the least. These European manufacturers are 
accustomed to send samples to their agents gratis, 
thus collaborating in the propaganda of sale, whereas 
many United States manufacturers insist that those 
upon whom they confer the favour of an agency 
shall make an initial cash purchase, often heavy, 
of an assortment of articles chosen by the manu- 
facturer himself, frequently without the slightest 
appreciation of the local needs. How large a r61e 
anti- American feeling plays to the advantage of the 
European exporter it is impossible to estimate 
accurately : that it is enormous cannot be doubted. 
Mindful of what they with justice consider the 
shameful treatment received by their nation at the 
hands of the United States in connection with the 
Panama affair, Colombian buyers, other things being 
equal, will prefer as a matter of personal feeling 
to purchase in European markets. The American 
manufacturer, too, seems hopelessly ignorant of 
elementary conditions in Colombia and hopelessly 
unwilling to learn. His commercial education seems 
faulty : I have heard! many a Colombian merchant 
complain of the ignorance, not only o things in 
Colombia but of affairs generally, of American 
merchants and manufacturers with whom he has 
come in contact. It is significant that most of the 



COMMERCE 131 

commission houses in New York that lead in trade 
with Colombia are in the hands of foreigners- 
Germans, West Indians, native Colombians, or other 
Spanish Americans. 

By improved selling methods and campaigns of 
publicity and education, much can be done to stimu- 
late the demand in Colombia for foreign goods, 
both in what are really necessities, e.g., modern 
agricultural tools and machinery, carts, power plants, 
and in specialities, for instance, phonographs, tele- 
phones, piano-players, typewriters, carriages, even 
automobiles. 

But a country's purchasing power in foreign 
marts is, in the long run, limited by its own produc- 
tion of wealth. It is, then, only with the development 
of her natural resources that Colombia's imports 
can very materially increase. Domestic capital is, 
of course, insufficient. To foster the sale of their 
products, to increase the value of Colombia as a 
market, British and American manufacturers would 
be well advised to do their utmost to assist her 
agricultural and industrial growth, either by direct 
investments or by extending or procuring credit for 
all legitimate new industries or expansion of existing 
ones. In the one case there would be every assur- 
ance of a reasonable profit from the investment 
itself : in the other case the risk could be reduced 
to a minimum by taking mortgages or other security 
which the borrower would be only too glad to offer. 
But at present, for a plantation, for example, or a 
cattle-ranch, or a municipal electric-lighting plant, 
given a proposition too small to warrant attempting 
the in any case difficult task of floating a bond 
issue, one has to have recourse to the commission 
houses for credit. They do not fill the need : they 
are loath to grant such long credits as are required ; 
their resources are often limited, and, moreover, they 
rarely have the same interest in thte growth of their 



132 COLOMBIA 

client's enterprise as the manufacturer of agricultural 
machinery, plantation railways, or of electric supplies 
would have in the new outlet for goods that an 
expanding agricultural estate, let us say, or a new 
hydro -electric plant would furnish. Of course, in- 
dividual initiative along such lines can only be 
expected from the very largest concerns, but the 
suggestion here put forward might well merit the 
systematic attention of manufacturers' associations, 
not alone in regard to Colombia, but to all the 
undeveloped Latin-American countries. 

Stumbling-blocks to the growth of commercial 
intercourse with Colombia are many : some are 
caused by the faults of the foreign manufacturers 
themselves, which, though often called attention to, 
seem not yet on the road' to cure. Sending out 
catalogues in any language but Spanish is prac- 
tically useless : in fact, little can be accomplished 
merely by mail (what little might be done in small 
articles by the mail order business is to-day 
neglected). Commercial travellers must be sent out, 
and in this connection it is pleasing to note the 
steady improvement in the number and character 
of the travelling representatives, especially of 
American firms, where improvement was most 
needed. The much-beridiculed, language -ignorant, 
" dago "-despising, tobacco -chewing, grossly im- 
polite type of Yankee "- hustler " is rapidly dis- 
appearing. But the ignoring of the first requirements 
of packing to avoid additional customs and freight 
charges and to minimize the risks of damage and 1 
breakage due to severe transhipments, muleback 
journeys, and exposure to heat and wet, the failure 
to follow positive instructions, the substitution of 
articles, and the refusal to adapt goods to the wishes 
of purchasers still continue unabated. In these 
respects, the methods of the Germans and the French' 
are unquestionably superior : it is believed in the 



COMMERCE 133 

States that the English, too, are exempt from these 
faults, but they also often offend. 1 

Other more serious impediments to trade are 
the result of conditions in Colombia : first, the lack 
of transportation, facilities and the high cost of 
freights, and second, the thoroughly unscientific, 
constantly fluctuating and exorbitantly high tariff, 
which makes importers cautious as to their commit- 
ments . Changes in the law and contradictory rulings 
and classifications are constantly being made, but 
never a change is made in the fundamentally vicious 
underlying principle of the present system of 
levying the duties entirely by the gross weight, 
regardless of value. A crude protectionist idea 
pervades the schedules in some particulars perhaps 
the rate is raised a bit above the already high 
charges on similar products in order to foster infant 
domestic industriescotton goods and shoes, sugar, 
wheat, flour, and the like ; but in general the tariff 
is for revenue with a vengeance- The duties on 
luxuries and necessities alike, in order to amass 
income to run the Government, are made as high 
as possible, just stopping short, occasionally even 
overstepping the limit, where the layer of the golden 
egg will be entirely killed. It is difficult for the 
merchants of the country to arouse the politicians 
to the needs of the situation : in every land the 
problem is difficult, but in Colombia especially the 
subject is too readily shirked and the much-needed 
tariff reform seems as distant as ever. Fear of 
decreasing the revenues, probably groundless, is the 
great deterrent. tWith the present system the 
Government knows more or less what to expect ; if 
an ad valorem basis be adopted, it is argued, skilled 

" * See Report of British Consulate at Medclltn, reprinted in Daily 
Consular Reports (Washington), August 21, 1912 ; and the very valu- 
able Report on Trade Conditions in Colombia, by Charles M. Pepper, 
of the Department of Commerce and Labour, Washiiigtoa, 19037. 



134 COLOMBIA 

appraisers would be required, and Colombia could 
not supply them the cost of administration and of 
collection would be augmented, frauds might increase, 
and there is no telling what even the gross revenues 
might be. At the present time the only ad valorem 
duty is on precious stones, which pay 10 per cent. ; 
all other articles are ranged within sixteen classes, 
the first including such things as rough timber, rails, 
machinery of all kinds weighing over three tons, 
construction materials, and live animals, which are 
admitted free ; the second class pays duty of $.017, 
gold a kilogram, and so on, up to the sixteenth, on 
which the duty is $2.55 a kilogram : still higher, 
though in this case reasonable, is the duty on cigars, 
not included in the sixteen general classes $3.00 a 
kilogram. When it is remembered that the duty 
is calculated on the gross weight, including all 
wrappings and packings, necessarily heavy on account 
of the transportation and climate risks, it will be 
seen how exorbitant the tariff can be. The schedules 
make no distinctions of quality or value ; cheap 
shoes, rancid butter, inferior silks pay at the same 
rate per kilo as the finest and most expensive. Many 
articles of many brands are consequently practically 
excluded. There are other inconveniences, too. The 
invoice and entry requirements are technical and 
complicated, and violation, however honest the 
mistake, results in heavy fines. 

Then there are differential duties at some ports. 
All schedules bear a surtax of 70 per cent. Buena- 
ventura pays only 75 per cent, of the original rates, 
plus the 70 per cent., Tumaco only 50 per cent. ; 
Cticuta pays a surtax of 35 per cent., not 70 per 
cent., and so forth, to bewilderment. The logical 
consequence is a system of interior customs duties so 
as to protect one zone which pays the highest duties 
from being invaded by certain classes of goods 
imported at a place that benefits by a reduced rate. 



COMMERCE 135 

And still other octrois are in force to provide revenue 
for local governmental subdivisions, as if the diffi- 
culties of transportation were not impediment enough 
to trade. 

Despite all, the domestic interchange of products 
between departments is not inconsiderable. Long 
ago, Reclus observed : '* Settled in their high Andine 
citadels, the Colombians divide the work of agri- 
culture and industry in such wise as to be self- 
sufficing by the domestic interchange of products. 
The cessation of all overseas commerce between 
Colombia and Europe would not result in any great 
inconvenience from the purely material point of 
view : her citizens would go without luxurious 
furniture and would content themselves with coarser 
clothing. The importance of their interior commerce 
gives to the growing foreign relations a basis of 
remarkable solidity/' In addition to clothing, live- 
stock and articles of food salt, sugar, coffee, cacao 
and chocolate, wheat furnish the chief movement 
in domestic trade. 

It is always interesting to follow the course of 
merchandise to the ultimate consumer. In the largest 
towns, as we have seen > there may be no need of 
middlemen, the importers being themselves the 
retailers ; but at their very side will flourish on their 
own small scale the little shops or tiendas patronized 
by the lower classes, which, while dealing rather 
in native products, will, nevertheless, retail some 
of the cheaper imported goods bought from their 
neighbours cotton prints, hardware, and the like, 
A more valuable customer for the general store and 
importer is the shopkeeper from a neighbouring town 
or village, or from a distance of several days maybe, 
whose business, while large compared with that of 
the tiendecita, is not voluminous enough, or his 
ability, experience, or initiative too limited, to 
warrant his entering into direct relations with foreign 



COMMERCE 137 

rising at dawn, will bring the products of their fields 
or their fingers to market, the whole family coming 
ambling along by the side of their heavily laden 
horses or mules ; the less fortunate ones will 
bring their truck on their backs or jauntily balanced 
this the women on their heads. The distance they 
will often trudge to market to sell their shilling's 
worth is incredible the Indians especially will come 
their 15 or 20 miles on foot and then back again at 
night to their little mountain abodes. The fairs are 
gatherings held at the more important towns when- 
ever the local spirit every year or two moves. 
Dealers come from far and wide. Cattle trading 
is the chief business, but gambling and drinking seem 
the principal occupations. One or two of these fairs, 
like that of Pereira, held with greater regularity, have 
acquired fame, and a very important volume of trade 
is carried on during the one or two weeks they last. 
There is much then that is primitive in the business 
methods still in vogue in Colombia. In the remote 
interior towns much survives of the old customs of 
the Spanish colonial days, and as far as many places 
are concerned whose isolation is likely to continue, 
such a picture as we have drawn will probably remain 
on the canvas for several generations more. 



CHAPTER X 
AGRICULTURE 1 

To form an idea of the agriculture and the agricul- 
tural products of Colombia the reader must free his 
mind of any idea that it is wholly a tropical country. 
Of course, it is situated in the tropics, and the first 
sight the traveller has of the country is undoubtedly 
tropical, but climate and temperature are a matter of 
elevation. From this standpoint, agricultural Colom- 
bia can be considered as divided into four zones : 
first, the coast zone, both on the Atlantic and Pacific, 
very hot and damp all the year round ; second, the 
hinterland and valleys to an elevation of 3,000 feet ; 
third, the low hills and first ranges of the Andes to 
an elevation of 6,000 feet ; and fourth, the higher 
ranges and plateaux from 6,000 feet up.,, 

Climatic conditions are entirely different in all 
these zones and even between the Atlantic and Pacific 
coasts. In the former the seasons are well marked : 
from December to May dry, and from June to 
November wet and very wet* On the Pacific coast it 
rains practically every day in the year. Both are 
hot and damp, the temperature going every day to 
95 F. This also refers to the Magdalena Valley as 
far up as Girardot. 

T This chapter has been ivritten by Mr. Charles J. Eder, whose 
experience of over twenty years as manager of large plantations 
and cattle ranches in Colombia qualifies him to speak with 
authority. 

188 



AGRICULTURE 139 

In the second zone, such as the Cauca Valley, con- 
ditions are entirely different ; two dry and two wet 
seasons alternate, January, February, and March dry ; 
April, May, and June wet ; July, August, and Septem- 
ber dry ; and October, November, and December wet. 
Temperature varies between 64 and 84 every day, 
with an average of 76 F. 

The third zone is about the same as the second as 
regards rains, but these are somewhat more frequent. 
Temperature ranges at 6,000 feet from 58 to 72. 

In the fourth zone, from 6,000 to 9,000 feet, the 
temperature ranges at the latter elevation from 40 
to 64, with occasional frosts. 

The Pacific coast zone is only suitable for tagua 
and rubber, on account of the practically constant 
rains- Plantains, bananas, and com are raised, but 
on a very small scale. Towards the south the climate 
changes again and has less rain, and here are seen, 
besides the products mentioned, some cattle. Thurc 
does not seem to be an immediate future in this 
section, due to unfavourable climatic conditions and 
the very sparse population. On the Atlantic coast 
and in the Magdalena Valley are raised bananas, 
tagua, rubber, cacao, sugar cane, corn, and cattle. 
This latter was at one time quite a large industry in 
the llanos, which for our purpose can be classed with 
the Atlantic zone. These llanos , Casanare, San 
Martin, Bolivar, Ayapel, together with the Magdalena 
Valley and to the south of the Sierra Nevada, are 
immense plains covered with grass, said to be excel- 
lent for grazing cattle, and certainly some of the 
stock from them seems to prove this. The industry 
has declined very much, however, and the population 
is scanty. 

The second zone seems to be especially adapted 
for sugar cane, coffee, cacao, corn, cotton, and 
cattle : the third zone for coffee, con*^ beans. 
yucca, arracacha, cotton, cattle, and table vegetables : 



140 COLOMBIA 

the fourth zone for all the last nariled, and in 
addition wheat, barley and the other cereals, and 
potatoes. 

Agriculture as a science is not known in Colombia 
with the exception of one or two isolated cases. 
\Vhere it seems to be most developed is on the 
savannah of Bogota, where one can see some ploughs, 
cultivators, and harvesting machinery in operation 
(American manufacture). The chief agricultural 
pursuits are as follows, in the order named as to their 
importance : Grazing of cattle both for breeding 
and fattening; the breeding industry, including 
horses and mules ; plaintains, corn, beans, sugar, 
coffee, wheat, bananas (as distinguished from' plain- 
tains), vegetables in the high lands, especially pota- 
toes, yuccas, arracachas, cereals ; also in the high 
lands, hats, cacao, and cotton. The natural products, 
such as rubber and tagua, copal gum, cocoanuts, I 
do not take into consideration at all, as it is impos- 
sible to form an idea as to their value, with the ex- 
ception of tagua. Then follow, on a very small scale, 
rice and goat and sheep raising. Swine, of course, 
are raised, but I hardly know where to put them 
in their order of importance, as practically every 
small fanner has one or more, but they are rajely 
raised in quantities. 

tWe will now take up each industry separately. 

Cattle. The industry of horned cattle is un- 
doubtedly the largest of any in Colombia, being 
found all over the country, both in the hot valleys 
ami the cool highlands. As there are no statistics 
it is impossible to give any figures concerning the 
total number in the country. Some States have pub- 
lished statistics concerning the number supposed to 
exist in them, but there is no relying on these figures, 
as Colombians have had too many revolutions and 
are too much afraid of taxes to give the correct data, 
thinking it is either for confiscation or taxes that the 



AGRICULTURE 141 

authorities want these figures ; and perhaps they are 
right. The stock as such is not bad, but hardly any 
attempts are made to iw' ro/e the breed. Then* are 
a i'cw exceptions around Dogota, uhm* Durham,-, and 
Polled An^us have been ini;r,r'-.d, and in Mi:dcilin a 
few Ayrshire, and in the Cauca Valjcy one attempt 
only to improve the breed with an imported Indian 
bull, which so far has given good results. It is 
practically impossible to acclimate good stock from 
Bogotd in the hot countries, as, it never being hot 
or even warm in the former place, it gives better 
results to import from the south of the United States 
towards the close of the summer there. In Bogotd 
climate conditions and food are such that good stock 
can be easily fed as in its native home, and it does 
not suffer from heat or any obnoxious insects. The 
difficulty is getting the stock there, and the risks are 
very great. 

A fully grown native steer, well fattened, will weigh 
some 1,200 Ib. on the hoof. Of course there are 
exceptions, especially with some crossed breeds. 
Then again weights depend upon where the stock 
comes from. Undoubtedly it is around Bogotd, due 
to imported blood, good climate and good feed, that 
the best stock is seen, whereas in the south of 
Colombia around Pasto is probably where the worst 
is found. The principal breeding centres are : the 
llanos, the Cauca Valley, and the Patia Valley. 
Absolutely no care is bestowed on the animals ; the 
cows graze and drop their calves out in the open,, 
and large herds of steers fatten with only one man 
to look after them. When any animal dies it is 
always ** pest." The most careful owners only give 
salt once a month and every now and then take 
out a few maggots, Colombians being great be- 
lievers in Providence, it is only natural that they 
should leave the care of their stock to the Lord, 
Only lately have a few owners been taking measures 



142 COLOMBIA 

towards the prevention of symptomatic charbon 
(blackleg). Hardly any attempt is made to prevent 
the pest of ticks, which is very prevalent in certain 
sections of the country, especially Tolima. Here 
the method is to burn the grass every year with 
the object of burning the ticks. 

Dairying is in a very primitive state. Cows give 
only an average of two quarts of milk a day, and do 
not give up their milk unless the calf is tied to them. 
Cheese is too good a name for the stuff that is 
turned out. The following is the method of manu- 
facture : the milk is put in a long, narrow dug- 
out, cut out from the log of a tree, then the rennet 
(calves' stomach) is immersed and is moved along 
in this dug-out for a few minutes and then allowed 
to stand until the milk curdles. Once curdled it 
is pressed down by hand until the whey rises, and 
when this has all been removed the stuff remaining, 
called cheese, is rubbed continually for about half 
an hour with the hands, and when of sufficient con- 
sistency coarse salt is added and the mass is pressed 
in wooden moulds of different sizes. This, strange to 
say, sells at an average price of 1 5 c. a pound, ranging 
as low as 10 c. and as high as 30 c. Butter in most 
towns is a luxury, being worth as much as 60 to 
70 c. a pound, in the Cauca, for a whitish rancid 
substance given this name. 

It is mostly in these so-called dairies that blackleg 
is prevalent, as the calves are separated from the 
cows at about 3 or 4 p. m. in small pens where there 
generally is nothing to eat or drink. Next morning 
about 5 a.nt. the cows are driven into a corral 
without shade, and milking is continued until 12 or 
i p.m-, the animals in the meantime having nothing 
to eat or drink. In the dry season these corrals are 
covered with six inches of dust and in the rainy 
season with twelve inches of mud. 

Cattle prices are going up continually, a good 



AGRICULTURE 143 

cow with calf being worth from 50 to $60, one- 
year-olcl calves $20, and fat steers from $50 to 
S6o. Profits are large, since, as already stated, no 
care or expense is bestowed on the animals, three 
or four men being sufficient to look after a great 
many. Above conditions and prices refer to the 
Cauca Valley, but the general method of managing 
stock is the same all over the country. 

Hides constitute a valuable article for export, 
amounting in 1911 to 4,449,475 kilos (roughly, 
406,000 hides, valued at $1,779,790) ; besides, the 
native industry of tanning seems to be fairly well 
developed, especially in Pasto. 

I think there will be a great development of the 
cattle industry in the near future as meat becomes 
dearer and dearer in the United States. The llanos 
offer a good field, as they are well situated, with easy 
access to the ports on the Atlantic coast, where pack- 
ing houses may be built one of these days. The 
Cauca Valley, some of the Tolima plains, and the 
Patia Valley, and the southern slopes of the Sierra 
Nevada, seem to be especially adapted for breeding 
cattle, but the difficulties of getting to the coast are 
still great. 

Good para pastures in the Cauca are worth quite 
$28 per acre, and hold one and a half head per acre. 
Profits range from $8 to $12 per head per year, 
so the returns may be reckoned at $15 per acre 
per year, with the great advantage that practically 
no labour is needed once the grass is in good 
condition. 

In the colder regions up in the hills, fattening in 
pastures of clover and rye-grass seems to give 
excellent results, with a yield perhaps better than 
para. 

All these pastures last for years, perhaps one 
hundred and more, with practically no care except- 
ing every now and then a cleaning of the weeds. 



144 COLOMBIA 

If in poor condition, a cleaning, then burning and 
allowing them to rest during the rainy season for 
three or four months, seems to restore them to a 
good condition again. 

Horse and mule breeding is not quite so exten- 
sive. Around Bogota, Percherons, Hackneys, Studs, 
and very good Spanish and French Jacks have been 
imported. Good large -sized saddle mules are in 
great demand, and worth anywhere from $150 to 
$300 each, according to their gait. In the Cauca 
a Hackney and some Peruvian studs (famous for 
their easy riding gait) have been imported, as also 
some Percherons from Bogot, but these latter are 
not a success where the climate is hot. Ordinary 
cargo mules are worth from $50. to $60, according to 
size. Horses range from $30 for cargo purposes 
to as high as $400 for good easy-going saddle 
animals. The breed is practically Arab where 
attention has been paid to picking out the sires. 
Generally they are small, a fourteen-hand horse being 
considered big. They are strong and can stand 
quite a deal of riding, especially considering that 
no care is bestowed on them. Mares vary from 
$20 to as high as $120 when of a good size and 
saddle-broken with an easy gait. 

Plantains .This is the staple food of all the 
people in the hot countries, and there is not a farm 
or yard where some are not grown, although it 
should not be called cultivation, as the stump used 
for propagating is simply stuck in the ground and 
allowed to grow. Every now and then the weeds 
are cleared, and when the fruit is ripe it is cut down, 
and the suckers grow until they in their turn bear 
their fruit and are cut down, and so on for years. 
Rich and poor alike eat plantains, either green, half, 
or fully ripe ; the first for making soup and the others 
as vegetables, either boiled, fried, or roasted, or in 
lieu of bread. This is essentially, a poor man's 



AGRICULTURE 145 

crop, although large profits are made at times* 
Under unfavourable weather conditions the price of 
this staple goes up as high as $1.50 the guango 
(about sixty-four plantains). Needless to say that 
plantains will not grow above an elevation of 6,000 
feet, and at this elevation the quality is poor. 
Plantains need a hot climate and a damp soil to 
develop and bear well. 

Maize. This is cultivated all over Colombia, from 
the sea coasts to the highest altitudes. People living 
in these latter sections eat more corn than those 
living in the warm sections. In the high elevations 
only one crop a year is obtained, whereas from 
sea-level to 3,000 feet two crops a year are easily 
produced, and I believe in certain favoured sections, 
under proper cultivation and irrigation, three crops 
should be no difficult matter. No pretence is made 
to a rational cultivation. The method is as follows : 
the wood, brush, or weeds are burned, and then 
the seed planted in holes made with a stick of wood 
at distances varying from three to six feet, according 
to the soil, and two or three seeds to the hole. Three 
weeks after planting, a cleaning is given by hand 
with a small shovel to remove the weeds, and lo 
and behold ! five months after you crop as good 
a crop as you can take off in the States. This, of 
course, refers to the rich and fertile valleys and 
not to the hills. In these latter, the returns are 
not as large, although two crops a year are 
gathered ; but there is the advantage of being able 
to keep the corn longer, as it is not so prone to 
weevils. Generally speaking there are no estates 
devoted especially and exclusively, exception made 
of some near Bogotd, to corn on a big scale. Corn 
is not fed to stock, and to horses only on a small 
scale, and these belonging to rich owners. Okie of 
these days there will be a rich field in this line, when 
-laud becomes more valuable aad perhaps when the 

11 



146 COLOMBIA 

corn can be exported, and grazing will have to give 
way to feeding stock scientifically. To-day corn is 
only raised as food for human beings. Prices vary 
very much, like everything else in Colombia, due to 
lack of good roads ; in some parts of the country 
the price may be so low that it hardly pays the 
farmer, and at the same time, in others, it will be 
as high as $3.20 a bushel. 

Beans are extensively cultivated in some sections, 
such as Antioquia, where they constitute the staple 
food, together with corn. No cultivation whatever 
exists on large estates, every small settler planting 
a small patch. They grow practically everywhere. 

Sugar. This is without doubt the greatest 
favourite, after cattle, of all products in Colombia, 
as everywhere all over the country, from the coast 
to as high an elevation as the cane will grow,, 
6,000 to 7,000 feet, one meets with sugar-cane 
patches and plantations. 

This industry is still in a very primitive condition, 
with two exceptions : Sincerin, on the Atlantic coast 
near Cartagena, and La Manuelita, in the Cauca 
Valley. Both these are modern up-to-date factories, 
with double crushers, triple effects, vacuum pans, 
centrifugals, etc. The others all range from little 
hand-mills made of pieces of round wood and horse- 
power vertical mills to mills driven by . water- 
power. With the exception of the two factories 
mentioned, the method of manufacture is the same 
in all : open evaporation and the sugar cleaned 
by means of mud allowed to percolate slowly through 
the masse -cuite in earthen moulds of a conical 
shape. Cured thus two or three times, the moulds 
are turned over, and the result is what is called 
loaf sugar, more or less white and rather more than 
less dirty and full of impurities. 

The sections where sugar-cane seems to grow best 
and is most developed are, in the order named, the 



AGRICULTURE 147 

Cauca Valley, Cundinamarca, Santander, Antio^uia, 
and the Atlantic coast. The Cauca lias the advantage 
both of climate and of level ground, whereas in the 
next three States mentioned the areas given over to 
its cultivation are generally broken, the level parts 
being comparatively very small. Qn the Atlantic 
coast the crops have to be taken off the same as 
in Cuba and the other Antilles, that is, from Decem- 
ber to May, as from June on the heavy rains prevent 
regular work. In the Cauca climatic conditions are 
very favourable, although it takes the cane longer 
to mature fifteen to eighteen months, as there are 
four seasons, two dry and two wet, alternately. It is 
sometimes found profitable, however, to cut at twelve 
to fifteen months. Reaping and manufacture of 
sugar go on all the year round. During the most 
rainy seasons, in the months of April and November, 
perhaps work may be delayed, but never actually 
stopped, for three or four days in eacli month. On 
the Atlantic coast the heat and humidity are very 
great, whereas in the Cauca it is never oppressive. 
In the other States mentioned perhaps the tempera- 
ture is a little too low during the nights to get 
the full benefit from this plant, and the lack of big 
valleys militates against its development on a large 
scale. On the Atlantic coast, outside of Sincerin 
and small plantations in the Santa Marta section, 
it cannot be said to be extensively cultivated. 

The tonnage per acre in the Cauca in favourable 
years is as much as 80 tons of cane, without any 
other cultivation given than a mere hand-cleaning 
with small shovels. The lowest average known, 
due to prolonged drought and locusts, is 24 
tons per acre, and under normal conditions the 
average is 50 tons to the acre. No fertilizers or 
manures of any kind are applied ; but the soil is 
so fertile that there are still plantations under cultiva- 
tion that are known to have given cane continuo^-ly 



148 COLOMBIA 

for a hundred and twenty years. The usual run of cane 
is of very good purity, and produces very good sugar. 
In exceptional years I have seen canes 20 feet long, 
without the tops, and of fair diameter. I have 
seen time and again canes 3^ inches diameter. SVhite 
sugar for home consumption can be turned out in 
the Cauca for if c. per pound, and export sugar with 
good machinery for i c. per pound. 

This industry requires a good deal of labour, but 
in the more populated sections of the country little 
difficulty is found, as the peon likes to work on 
sugar plantations, as he can and does chew pretty 
well aU the cane he can hold, and, judging from 
appearances, he seems satisfied to be able to fill 
himself up with cane juice. He would prefer 
aguardiente, but fortunately this is a Government 
monopoly and is expensive. The by-products from 
sugar factories have no outlet except as food for 
stock and for the little denatured alcohol and the 
aguardiente distilled under Government contracts or 
sub-contracts. 

Very little molasses is fed to stock!, so there is a 
good field for some enterprising stock-raiser to fatten 
cattle with this at low prices when sugar is cheap. 
There may be a field for alcohol for motors and 
lighting purposes, but this is rather remote, as the 
education the Colombian receives, when he receives 
any at all, is along anything but mechanical lines, 
and a good many years will pass before the care 
of an internal combustion engine, or any other kind 
of engine, can be entrusted to him. 

Where perhaps the greatest area of cane is under 
cultivation is in Cundinamarca, but for the purpose 
not of making sugar but syrup, which is then 
fermented with corn and called " chlcka" This 
beverage is very popular with the working classes, 
and they get drunk on it as often as they can. This 
form of intoxication seems to be about the worst 



AGRICULTURE 149 

of all, as it not only brutalizes the people, hut 
readers them exceedingly tupid in a .short fhio, 

Panda. The inaiuii'actme oi {.his .jui^l- uJ tooj 
(it looks and tastes very much like maple sugar) is 
quite large all over Colombia, although each 
individual mill is very small, the biggest of them 
being horse-power. It is made from sea-level to 
altitudes of 6,000 feet, and the acreage under 
cultivation must be very big. The process of manu- 
facture is simple : the cane juice is boiled in open 
evaporators until sufficiently thick, then it is run 
into wooden moulds, where it hardens into cakes 
weighing I Ib. each. As an article of food it is 
superior to sugar, and forms a great staple for all 
classes. 

Coffee can be and is grown from a few hundred feet 
above sea-level to about 7,000 feet. As an article 
of export it is the most valuable of all products 
in Colombia, It is cultivated pretty well all over 
the country, and especially in Cundinamarca, 
Santander, Antioquia, Caltlas, Cauca, Tolima, and 
on the northern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, probably 
in the order named. 

A good deal of Santander coffee exported through 
Venezuela reaches the market under the name of 
Maracaibo. The total annual exportations from 
Colombia are about 600,000 sacks, worth about 
ten million dollars. Home consumption is quite an 
item, as the Colombians are great coffee-drinkers. 
Exports in 1911, from official figures, were 
37,899,968 kilos, valued at $9,500,000. O'f this 
407,932 kilos, valued at $109,568 (about 6,000 
sacks), were exported from Santa Marta ; Caldas 
exports about 90,000 sacks, and the Cauca about 
30,000. I have not been able to get the figures 
for the other States. 

The coffee grown in the higher altitudes is milder 
and fetches a higher price, but the trees do not 



150 COLOMBIA 

bear as much nor do they last as long. It is easier, 
too, to form a plantation at elevations from 5,000 
feet up, as there is no need for shade trees, which 
are necessary at the lower elevations. Very few 
plantations exist below 2,000 feet, as the climate 
as a rule is too damp and population scarce great 
drawbacks, as coffee needs a lot of labour at crop 
time, and when the climate is damp there is too 
much difficulty in drying. 

The returns from plantations vary very much, 
depending on the price of freights and also on the 
labour obtainable at crop times, as it is a strange 
thing that most labourers are decidedly averse to 
working in coffee plantations, probably due to the 
dampness and lack of pure air in them. Water, too, 
seems to become polluted from so much vegetation 
and from the skins of the pulped fruit. As with 
other crops, practically no cultivation is undertaken 
except cleaning off the weeds either with a shovel 
or machetes two or three times a year. In some 
sections pruning is undertaken, but, as a rule, 
without method, so that more harm than good is 
done. 

It takes from three to four years for trees to 
begin to bear, and they do not reach their full 
maturity till about six years old. The average pro- 
duction is about i Ib. per tree a year, except 
in some exceptional plantations where irrigation and 
good cultivation are applied. Water is the most 
necessary thing to produce gt>od crops, as this 
plant exacts plenty of it and at the right time. 
Under favourable conditions and with fair cultiva- 
tion a plantation will give as much as 2f Ib. 
per tree a year. Two crops are taken off every 
year : the principal one in March or April, and a 
smaller one in October or November, Small 
pickings go on all the year through. It is no 
uncommon sight to see trees bearing at the same 



AGRICULTURE 151 

time both blossoms and fruit (berries) in all Stages 
of development. 

From figures in the Cauca Valley, it costs about 
8 c. per pound to place coffee in New York. As 
with everything else in Colombia, it is impossible 
to give exact figures, due to fluctuations in freights 
(mule) and exchange. To-day Colombian coffee 
is worth in New York from 17 c. to i8c. per 
pound. In the Cauca Valley, where plantations will 
last some fifty to sixty years, 720 trees are planted 
to the acre ; in the hills more, but the life of the 
trees is less. 

The section that seems to have the best future 
before it for this crop is the Sierra Nevada de Santa 
Marta, due to its good geographical position, if 
sufficient labour can be secured, as the rate of 
freight in comparison with other parts of Colombia 
is low and steamship service good;. This question 
of freights is the great drawback in other sections 
of the country, as all transportation has to be, at 
least in part, on muleback, which is expensive. The 
Cauca Valley is well adapted for coffee, and if the 
railroad, which will reach the valley next year, would 
only carry it at a low rate, there is a chance of its 
developing into a large industry. I say chance 
because the difficulty of getting the sufficient 
quantity of labour, especially women and children, 
who can pick more and at less cost than men, is 
very great, and it is useless thinking- of importing 
it, as there is practically nothing to employ it in 
between crop times. Where labour seems to be 
most plentiful, and willing to work in the planta- 
tions, is in Antioquia, Santander, Cundinamarca, 
Boyacd, and Caldas ; but again the matter of freight 
is an obstacle, as from all these regions it has to be 
moved partly on muleback for long distances and 
partly in boats down the Magdalena River. 

Cocoa, called cacao. This is but little cultivated 



152 COLOMBIA 

in Colombia, the main States being Tolima and 
Cauca. The Colombians do not care much for 
tliis crop, as it does not begin to produce till about 
six to eight years after planting, and requires ten 
to twelve years to reach full maturity. Two pounds 
per tree per year can easily be reckoned on from a 
plantation well looked after. Trees are planted 270 
to the acre, and I2c. net profit per tree per year 
may easily be reckoned on, year in and year out, 
and with but little work in harvesting, as it does 
not require much labour and no machinery of any 
kind. It is rather a delicate plant, however, and 
requires more care and attention than the average 
Colombian is willing to bestowi on it. 

The Magdalena and Cauca Valleys are especially 
adapted to its cultivation, particularly the latter, as 
the bean produced there is of superior quality and 
fetches a higher price than any other. I have seen 
plantations over sixty years old still bearing good crops. 

Wheat and the other cereals will grow at elevations 
from 7,000 feet up. The Sierra Nevada is ex- 
ceptionally well situated for this purpose, and has 
some good lands well watered for its cultivation. 
In the interior all the high plateaux from this eleva- 
tion up are suitable. Where the industry is most 
developed is in Cundinamarca, Boyac, and parts 
of Santander, its value being reckoned as quite 
7j million dollars a year. !The plateaux near 
Popayan and Pasto produce some wheat to-day, but 
little, and there is a good opening for this industry 
in these latter places, as labour is quite plentiful and 
of a better class than negroes, as at these altitudes 
only Indians are found, the negro as a rule being 
averse to going anywhere where it is even cool. I 
have not been able to get any figures of returns, but 
should say it must pay very well indeed, as the price 
of flour is high. 

Bananas. This industry is increasing rapidly on 



AGRICULTURE 153 

the Atlantic coast, fostered by the United Fruit Com- 
pany, the port for sl\i[ :.r. :t being Santa Marta. A 
German -^.' r --i; is developing .'/', ' in tin- 
Gulf of Uraba. * 

There are some 30,000 acres under cultivation 
in the Santa Marta section, of which 8,000 belong 
to the United Fruit. It is said that there are still 
over 120,000 acres of land in the same section avail- 
able for its cultivation. 

This plant needs irrigation. The River Sevilla 
can irrigate 1,500 acres more than are already under 
cultivation ; the Tucurinca and Fundacion Rivers 
25,000 acres more, and the Arracataca 7,500 acres 
more. Thus far does the Santa Marta Railway run, 
but its policy is to continue extending the road as 
new plantations are opened up. No cultivation has 
as yet been undertaken on lands that can be irrigated 
by the River Ariguani. Most of the undeveloped 
land belongs to the Government. It costs about 
$50 per acre to clear, burn, plant, and clean till the 
first crop one year after planting and the returns 
are $33 nett per acre per year. 

Cotton is only cultivated on a small scale, in 
Antioquia and the Atlantic coast. Trees are found 
wild all over the country from a few feet above sea- 
level to the high altitudes, but no use seems to be 
made of the fibre, even by the poor classes. Where 
mills have been erected (Antioquia, Atlantic coast, 
Santander, and Boyac) they have fostered the culti- 
vation of the plant, which is a perennial about 12 feet 
high, but, like most other plantations, little care is 
bestowed on it. In Antioquia the chief milling com- 
pany bought cotton in 1907 of the value of $6,920, 
in 1908 of $31,000, in 1909 of $43,000, in 1910 
of $62,000, in 1911 of $110,000, so it looks as 
if there were a future for it wherever there may be 
an incentive to cultivate it. With present freights, 
cultivation for export seems inadvisable. 



154 COLOMBIA 

Potatoes, yuccas, arracachas are cultivated all over 
the country at not less than 5,000 to 6,000 feet, and 
form staples of food for the people living there and 
supply the population in the valleys. 'On the coast 
the people eat imported potatoes from the States. 

Panama Hats. This industry has been growing 
quite considerably in the past few years, and is 
especially developed in Antioquia, Tolima, and 
Nariiio. The altitude most favourable for the 
growth and good quality of the straw of the palm 
seems to be from 5,000 feet up. 

In 1911 there were exported 93,784 kilos, valued 
at $1,088,821. 

Fibre. This is indeed but a very small industry, 
yet the Colombians supply themselves with the neces- 
sary fibre for the manufacture of ropes and coarse 
string. A few sacks are made in Cundinamarca and 
Narino. All the rest necessary for exporting coffee, 
cacao, and sugar has to be imported. The cactus 
from which it is derived, called locally " cabulla," and 
somewhat similar to the Yucatan hennequen, grows 
pretty well everywhere and at all altitudes. Some 
fanners plant it out as fences, for which purpose it 
serves well. 

RESUME. As will be seen from 1 the above, there 
is but little agricultural development taking the 
country as a whole. This is due more than anything 
else to lack of roads, as a good many products raised 
in the interior of the country cannot compete for 
home consumption with imported goods, in spite of 
heavy duties. Then, again, such parts of the country 
as are inhabited are fairly densely populated, but too 
far away from each other to develop intercourse in 
business on a large scale. 

For practical purposes it can be said that the Mag- 
dalena watershed with the exception of a few isolated 
settlements in the llanos of Ayapel and Corozal the 
llanos of Casanare, San Martin, and Patia, the Choc6, 



AGRICULTURE 155 

Caquetd,, and Putumayo setvas are unpopulated. 
These constitute quite two-thirds of the entire area 
of the country. The Cordillera slopes, again, are 
but very sparsely populated, great sections of the 
Western and Central entirely devoid of any in- 
habitants. The greatest centres of population are 
in Boyacd, Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Caldas, parts 
of Santander, parts of the Atlantic coast, the Cauca 
Valley, and parts of Narino around Pasto, probably 
in the order named. 

The chief products of each State are as follows : 

Boyacd. Potatoes, wheat, corn, beans, vegetables, 
cattle, and horses. Sugar and coffee but little. The 
populated part of this State is the most dense in 
the whole country, and is probably the poorest. 
Labour mostly Indian. 

Cundinamarca. Potatoes, wheat, very good cattle, 
horses, corn, sugar, coffee. Probably the most 
advanced of all the States. Labour mostly Indian. 

Antioquia. Coffee, hats, cotton, and sugar, cattle- 
fattening. A very hard-working and clever people, 
nearly all white. 

Tolima. Cacao, sugar, coffee, rice, hats, and 
cattle, although this latter is not very good. 

Atlantic Coast. Bananas, corn, sugar, cacao, 
coffee around Santa Marta ; cotton around Barran- 
quilla, and sugar around Cartagena. 

Narino. Hats, wheat, aniseed, potatoes, vege- 
tables, cattle. This latter poor. Population nearly 
all Indian. 

Caldas. Coffee, cattle, corn, beans, potatoes. 
Nearly all white. 

Cauca Valley. Sugar, coffee, cacao, cattle, and 
horses. Labour nearly all black. 

Cauca. Coffee, cattle, wheat, corn. Labour 
mostly Indian. 

Santander. Coffee, sugar, corn, cotton, cattle. 
Good people, white, and hard workers. 



156 COLOMBIA 

Pacific Coast. Practically all virgin forest. Below, 
the rain -belt near Tumaco there are a few negro 
settlements living on cattle, corn, and a little sugar. 

Given means of transportation, the industries, in 
my opinion, that will redeem Colombia are cattle, 
sugar, coffee, and bananas. 

The -sections most favourably situated are the 
Sierra Nevada, and once the railroad is built into 
the valley and the Canal open, the Cauca Valley. In 
the Sierra Nevada region proper, that is, the high 
lands, I do not think there are many suitable flats, 
but only small valleys and hill -sides. 

For cattle undoubtedly the Bolivar and eastern 
llanos and the valley of the Cauca will be thie first 
to be developed on a large scale for export, especi- 
ally the first, as being nearer the United States 
markets. Tolima plains and Patia Valley being well 
in the interior, there is not much' hope of getting 
stock out of them at a reasonable price. For sugar 
we can look to the Atlantic coast, on account of its 
situation, as freight is there a minor matter. In the 
Cauca Valley, when the railroad is finished and the 
Canal open, there is a very big future for this in- 
dustry on account of the fertility of the soil, the good 
climate, and a fair population. The development 
of coffee can be expected all over the cbuntry where 
there is sufficient population,, but especially in the 
Sierra Nevada region, due to its good position, and 
bananas on the Atlantic coast. 

There is plenty of room for development and plenty 
of opportunities if the settler is careful in studying 
conditions, transportation, and population. 

Tracts of land suitable for clearing can be obtained 
either from the Government or from private owners 
at a reasonable cost. Titles are secure, and in 
general date back a long period of time ; the chief 
difficulty occasionally met with is in the case of 
indivisos, where there are a number of owners in 



AGRICULTURE 157 

common, 'due to estates being handed down for 
generations without any partition proceedings being 
had and undivided interests being conveyed or trans- 
mitted. The disentanglement of an indiviso of long 
standing is a tedious and costly proceeding, dragging 
on for years. Owing, also, to the vagueness of early 
grants, boundary disputes are another fruitful source 
of litigation, and disputes over water rights are occa- 
sionally troublesome. But, of course, in none of 
these respects is Colombia unique : agricultural coun- 
tries in all parts of the tropics are in the same 
condition. The vast majority of titles in Colombia, 
however, are perfectly good, and the foreigner, acting 
under proper legal advice, can purchase with safety. 
In buying undeveloped land, he will occasionally run 
up against an exaggerated idea of values. The use 
of paper money seems to have had a decided influ- 
ence, by accustoming people to think in millions, in 
inflating the prices at which privately, owned forest 
lands are held. The fact of the matter is, that the 
Colombian in general has no real idea of the practical 
value of undeveloped lands, and if asked to name his 
price will generally ask an absurd figure. Then as 
soon as he gets the idea that some one really wants 
an estate, he decides it must be worth keeping for 
himself, forgetting that he and his ancestors have 
never obtained any profit out of it themselves. But 
in spite of such occasional obstacles, there is no real 
difficulty in picking up at fair valuations, often even 
at bargain prices, good lands suitable for agri- 
cultural development. The future permanent wealth 
of Colombia will be in its agriculture. 



CHAPTER XIi 
MINES AND FORESTS 

IT was lust for gold that spurred on the Spanish 
conquerors ; in the colonial epoch, gold mining was 
the great source of wealth ; in modern times, the 
mineral industry has been the principal occupation 
of one great section of Colombia, and to-day it is 
the country's unbounded and undoubted mineral 
wealth, even more than its agricultural, commercial, 
or industrial possibilities, that is attracting the atten- 
tion of foreign investors and fortune-seekers. 

The past history of the land and the unanimous 
reports of all observers well justify this present-day 
interest. The rich deposits are there barely 
scratched even by the past extraction of hundreds 
of millions* worth. It needs but the overcoming of 
obstacles, obstacles that in the past often have been 
insuperable and still at times render the cost of 
operation incommensurate with the returns, to make 
of Colombia one of the great mining countries of 
the world/ As it is, her r61e has been and is no 
insignificant one. 

The Spanish Conquistadores seized enormous quan- 

1 The earlier statistics and historical facts in this chapter have 
been obtained chiefly from Regel, Jalhay, the volume on the 
Republic of Colombia, published by the New York Consulate in 
1896 and the annual volumes of the Mineral Industry. Later data 
have been obtained from official publications, technical periodicals, 
and from information kindly furnished by a number of mining 
companies and engineers. 

158 



MINES AND FORESTS 159 

titles of gold that had been amassed by the Indians, 
but more important in the eyes of their victims had 
been salt. The rock-salt of Zipaquira and Nemoc6n 
(Cundinamarca) which the Chibchas mined, was one 
of the main bases of their wealth and power. The 
Spaniards continued working the same deposits, but 
in the most primitive manner, until better methods 
were introduced pursuant to Humboldt's suggestions. 
Being under Government operation salt is a 
monopoly it is not surprising that the methods have 
not since kept up with the times, although improve- 
ments are from time to time made ; recently, for 
instance, electric lighting has been installed in the 
galleries of the Zipaquira mine. Besides Nemoc6n 
and Zipaquira, salt is mined or evaporated from salt 
springs in small quantities, principally at Tausa, 
Sesquil6, Chita, and Muneque, all in the Eastern 
Cordillera ; it is also found in a few places in the 
Western and Central Cordilleras, but its production 
there is insignificant, although left to individual 
initiative. The really rich sources are monopolized 
by the Government, and the profits derived there- 
from are an important part of the national revenues. 
The production of the principal salt mines for 
1905 was as follows : 



Zipaquira ......... 7,866,000 269*423 

Neraocon ......... 4,211,000 90,595 

Sesquile ......... i535ooo 31,919 

In 1907 the total gross product of the marine and 
terrestrial salines reached $1,153,019, of which the 
marine (nearly all on the Atlantic coast) produced 
$584,230.83, and the terrestrial (about 20,000 tons) 
was : Zipaquira, $524,786 ; Chameza and Recetor, 
$4,414.63 ; Chita and Muneque, $35,504 ; Cumaral 
and Upin, $4,101. In 1908 the Zipaquira mine 
alone produced gross $555,331 and net $375>554- 



160 COLOMBIA 

The President's message to Congress (1912) reports 
the net proceeds of the marine salt works in 1911 
at $116,889, and of Zipaquira in 1910, $316,755, and 
in 1911, gross $460,896, net $373> 28 7 ; it does not 
give data as to other salines. The Zipaquira Mine 
is reported by one engineer to contain 500 million 
cubic metres of salt, of a weight of more than a 
billion kilograms. The amount of salt sold at Zipa- 
quira from 1778 to 1907 inclusive, according to 
official data, was 739,220 tons, of a value of 
$24,187,017. The mines of Cumaral and Upin, 
practically untouched for lack of roads to the points 
of consumption, are also reported to be wonderfully 
rich, sufficient to supply the whole Republic for 
generations and generations. 

/Another Government monopoly is that of the 
famous mines of Muzo, which furnish the finest 
emeralds in the world. In 1909 the Government 
entered into a partnership contract with an English 
company, The Colombian Emerald 'Mining Com- 
pany, Ltd., controlled by South African diamond 
interests, for the exploitation of these wonderful 
deposits, . but suit has been brought to rescind the 
agreement on grounds which do little credit to either 
the company or the representatives of the former ad- 
ministration ^who made the contract". A settlement is 
likely, and /with improved methods a considerable 
expansion in production may be looked forward to,.] 
A very interesting account of these mines was given 
by Mr. Charles Olden to the Institution of Mining, 
December 21, 1911,* from which we take the liberty, 
with the kind permission of th,e Institution, of 
quoting : 

"With the exception of those occurring in Colombia, there are 
no known deposits of emeralds in South America, notwithstanding 
statements to the contrary. 

* Transactions, vol. xxL, pp. 193-209. 



MINES AND FORESTS 161 

"In Colombia there are several deposits. The cnief is that now 
known as the Muzo and Cosquez Mines. There are also those 
known as the Somondoco mines and other of less importance. 
Most if not all of the emeralds are found in the Department of 
Boyaca. The Muzo and Cosquez mines are situated about 90 miles 
NNW. of Bogota. The Somondoco mines are approximately 
30 to 35 miles east of Bogota. Between these two deposits emeralds 
have been met, both as single gems and as deposits, but they have 
not as yet proved to be of first class quality. . . . 

" Geographical. Situated on a spur of the Eastern Cordillera of 
the Andes, the Muzo emerald deposits lie in a natural valley some- 
what resembling a funnel in shape. They lie from 20 to 150 
metres above the valley, and the establishment stands about 
half way between these extremes, the slopes on both sides being 
steep, almost to perpendicular in places. Mining operations are 
carried on at various points simultaneously at altitudes ranging 
from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea-level. The approaches to the 
mines from the surrounding country are difficult, and transport is 
rendered tedious by reason of the bad state in which the roads are 
allowed to remain . . . mules are employed for transportation- The 
time required to reach rail-head varies from two and a half to three 
days. . . . 

"Labour. All the native workers are pure Indians, indigenous 
to the locality. The men are not recruited from the immediate 
neighbourhood, but are drawn from districts at least a day's journey 
away from the mines. . . . The Indians are engaged for terms of not 
less than three months ; during this time [for obvious reasons] 
they are not permitted to leave the establishment, except by special 
permission from the management. As there is but one way into 
the mines, it is not difficult to keep track of the men. Excellent 
arrangements exist as to housing, feeding, medical attendance, 
baths, wash-houses and other benefits for the comfort and well- 
being of the men. All are fed free, and there is no limit placed 
upon the rations of fresh meat, vegetables, etc., supplied. For the 
accommodation of the small boys who have elected to accompany 
their elders to the mines, school is provided. 

" Geology. The Muzo emeralds occur in calcite veins traversing 
black carboniferous x limestone, in which are found ammonites and 
other fossil remains, which fix the age of the deposit as Lower 
Cretaceous. . . . The veins vary in width from a mere streak less than 
I inch wide up to 18 or 24 inches, but these wider veins are not held 
in favour, as the gems are more frequently found in the small veins, 

"The emerald occurs at Muzo only in its calcite or its limestone 
matrix." 

* Corrected to "carbonaceous," p. 208. 
12 



L62 COLOMBIA 

The writer, after describing the working methods, 
goes on to say : 

"A bank may prove absolutely valueless after months of work 
upon it. Despite the greatest care in the selection of the locality 
for starting the work, no one can estimate the probable value of any 
particular section of a deposit. In this respect emerald mining 
differs from most of the other branches of the industry. The lack 
of conformity exhibited by the calcite veins as to dip, strike, or 
continuity in any one direction,,deprives the engineer of all ordinary 
data upon which he could depend in forming a judgment, and the 
usual element of chance is much increased when dealing with the 
elusive emerald. There is little risk, however, m cutting down a bank 
immediately adjacent to a productive mine, as the veins can be 
followed into the new ground with reasonable prospects of success. 
Wherever the veins show they are followed, even if this entails 
cutting down a bank 100 feet high. Once a productive formation 
is found it is never left until it is worked out, and this may prove to 
be the work of years, as frequently happens at Muzo. 

"The tools used are steel bars about 5 feet long and weighing 
30 Ib. and shovels. The bars are forged to a point at one end and 
made wedge-shaped at the other. As the bank deepens and 
approaches the calcite veins, great care is exercised to prevent 
undue force being used, owing to the risk of breaking the emeralds 
which may be in the immediate vicinity. In this careful work the 
Indians excel, and they can strike repeatedly the same spot in the 
formation with the pointed end of the bar without deviating one 
hair's breadth, using just sufficient force to break the limestone 
without smashing the calcite or the gems it may contain. An 
unskilled miner, native or white, could do immense damage when 
using the bar in the neighbourhood of an emerald-bearing vein. 

" A bank is never left, day or night, so long as it is productive. 
Relays of miners are drafted to it to take the place of those who 
retire to meals, which are served only in the dining-rooms and 
never at the banks. Other relays of miners are drafted as necessity 
demands. When a bank becomes more than ordinarily productive, 
as when a rich pocket is discovered, the number of overseers is 
augmented and extra vigilance is exercised to prevent theft or 
carelessness in handling the matrix, and to see that no formation 
likely to carry gems is thrown over the damp. In this way work 
continues till dusk, when the banks are put in charge of military 
police or soldiers, of whom a large force is always stationed on the 
mines and in the city of Muzo. 

" There is no evidence whatever that the deposits are likely to 
become exhausted for the next few hundred years." 



MINES AND FORESTS 163 

The coal deposits that are found: in many parts of 
the Andes have been worked but little and only for 
purely local consumption. In the Eastern Cordillera 
they are met with here and there on the edge of the 
llanos at Villavicencio, in the Guaduas Valley, on the 
slope of the Cerro de. la Suma Paz, in the Carare 
region, at Pacho, La Pradera, Samacd, etc., and 
especially on the edge of the Sabani of Bogtrtd. 
Immediately back of Bogoti, coal is mined, but the 
most important works are those of Nemoc6n and 
Zipaquira. At the latter place there are five seams 
a yard thick. None of the various discoveries in the 
Eastern Cordillera give promise, however, of any 
industrial development of great importance. In the 
Central range, coal is mined in small quantities for 
use in neighbouring smelteries, iron-foundries, etc. 
The various outcroppings seem to form part of one 
general streak, running from Andes above the Cauca 
Valley towards Fredonia and Amagd on one side and 
towards Sabaletas, Titiribi, and Eliconia on the 
other. Further north numerous coal deposits have 
been found at Caceres, and between Caceres and 
Zaragoza, but no development work has been under- 
taken. 

For future export and industrial possibilities we 
should look rather to the beds of the Western Cor- 
dillera and those near the Atlantic coast : these 
deposits, if found upon thorough exploration equal 
to anticipations, will become a source of great wealth. 
The beds near Cali, on the line of the Cauca Railway, 
are believed to be very extensive and to run entirely 
through the Cordillera to the Pacific slope. Their 
proximity to the Pacific Ocean and to the Canal 
would make them an important factor, although their 
commercial value might be diminished to a certain 
extent if the United States Government, as has been 
reported to be its intention, sell West Virginia coal, 
superior for steamers, at Panama at practically cost- 



164 COLOMBIA 

Near the Atlantic two coal areas are known ; one to 
the east, where a wide vein of cannel coal with sur- 
face outcroppings was discovered in 1865 by John 
May, an English engineer, on the south-eastern slope 
of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, near the town 
of Serrejon, and reported to extend with other parallel 
veins north-easterly into the Goajira peninsula ; the 
other, near the Gulf of Urabd, contains a deposit 
of anthracite, extending some 50 miles north and 
south, of a thickness of five metres, and also lignite 
nearby at a place called Arboletes. Farther inland, 
in the Sierra de Abibe, the mountainous region be- 
tween the rivers Le6n and Sind, not only have various 
coal outcroppings been reported by prospectors, but 
also plentiful indications of other mineral deposits, 
iron, copper, lead, petroleum, gold, and silver. "Here, 
too, are lands that have no superior in the way of 
fertility anywhere in the world. These lands are 
accessible to good harbourage. Here is a land prac- 
tically uninhabited that has ideal surroundings and 
only awaits the man of brain and energy to convert 
it into a profitable domain." * 

Iron is found in the neighbourhood of many of 
the coal mines we have mentioned, but has been 
worked at only a few for use in local foundries 
at Pacho, now abandoned, at La Pradera, where 
there was an extensive investment a score of years 
ago, but little progress made, and at two or three 
places in Antioquia, where, on a small scale, rails, 
mills, and parts for mining machinery are being 
turned out. Copper, tin, quicksilver, lead, and many 
other minerals and precious stones have been dis- 
covered at a great many points, usually inaccessible, 
throughout Colombia, but few attempts have been 
made to work any of them on account of transporta- 
tion costs. Valuable asphalt deposits have been 
worked on a small scale in the upper Magdalena 
1 Mining Journal, July 27, 1912. 



MINES AND FORESTS 165 

Valley, but freights are well-nigh prohibitive. 
Petroleum is found between Cartagena and Barran- 
quilla, and elsewhere, but only one concern, a 
Canadian company, has drilled wells. 

It is in the domain of the precious metals that 
Colombia holds a proud place ; her gold, silver, and 
platinum resources are of commanding interest. 

It was in Colombia, in the placers of the Choc6, 
that platinum was discovered by the Spanish 
scientist, Antonio de Ulloa, in 1737. The recent 
high price of the metal and the rapid depletion of 
the Russian deposits have turned attention very 
seriously to Colombia as the chief source of supply 
of the future. For a number of years it has ranked 
second in the world, but its percentage of the total 
was very small. There are two districts in Colombia 
where this rare but indispensable metal is washed. 
In one, the Barbacoas district, extending from the 
frontier of Ecuador to the Micay River, gold 
(platinum is never found alone) is the metal of 
paramount importance, and the platinum is a 
negligible by-product. In the other region, the 
Choc6, it often outvalues the gold ; here it is found 
in the rivers of the San Juan and Atrato water- 
sheds ; the main placers are those of the Rivers 
Condoto and Platina, and it is also obtained from 
the Iro, Tamana, Bebara, Negu, Andagueda, 
Certegui, and Agua Clara, etc. The production 
heretofore has been desultory, practically all the 
metal being obtained by the lazy negro labourers, 
who mine for their own account, washing by hand 
in bateas, working only when forced to do so 
by lack of food, and quitting as soon as they have 
accumulated a little of the metal, which they trade 
for necessaries. But foreign capital is now going 
in. The most notable undertaking is that; of the 
Anglo-Colombian Development Company, formed by 
the Consolidated Goldfields interests, which has 



166 COLOMBIA 

already spent and is continuing to invest a very 
large amount of money in exploration work and 
the purchase of properties preparatory to develop- 
ment on an extensive scale, not only for gold and 
platinum in this section, but in other sections within 
reach of the Pacific coast. If this company succeeds, 
as with the resources at its command it unquestion- 
ably will, in meeting the labour problem, the platinum 
production of Colombia can be expected to increase 
enormously. In 1906 the exportation was 6,813 
ounces, of a declared value of 812 2, 119 ; in 1907 
the production was about 5,000 ounces of crude 
metal (the Russian production is estimated at 
300,000 ounces), in 1908 it was somewhat less, due 
to lower prices and the attempt of the Government 
to monopolize the industry. In 1910, approximately, 
13,000 ounces of crude platinum were recovered 
(valued at $260,632), the major portion of which 
was shipped to Europe : the exports to the United 
States amounted to 3,270 ounces (valued at 
$76,030), considerably larger than in 1909. 1911 
saw a still more notable increase : the exports were 
reported as valued at $345,896. 

Platinum is interesting because of its rare occur- 
rence in the world, /but it is gold and silver that give 
Colombia its importance as a mineral land. The 
average reader will probably be surprised at 
learning the enormous quantity of these metals that 
Colombia has produced in the course of its history. 
In fact, prior to the discovery of the golcffields of 
California and Australia, it was Colombia that had 
furnished the chief single source of gold supply to 
Europe. The most exhaustive student of the sub- 
ject, Dr. Vicente Restrepo/ estimates the total pro- 

x Esfudio sobre las minas de oro y plata de Colombia (2nd eoL, 
Bogota, 1888), Eng. trans, of ist ed., by C. W. Fisher, Gold and 
Silver Mints of Colombia (N.Y., 1886), Fr. trans, by Henry Jalaay 
(Brussels, 




LA CASCADA gi T ARTZ MINE, MAN1ZALKS. 




NATIVE PLACER MIXERS, SAX NICOLA*. 



MINES AND FORESTS 



167 



duction of gold from the Conquest (1537) to 1882 
at 876,774 kilograms, worth $582,704,000, and of 
silver during the same time as $47,000,000. These 
figures are far more conservative than those given 
by Dr. Adolf Soetbeer, who estimated the produc- 
tion from 1537 to 1875, of gold at 1,231,000 kilos, 
worth $818,454,900, and of silver at 6 to 10 per cent, 
of the gold, or from $49,227,000 to $82,000,000. 
From 1876 to t 1892, both inclusive, the figures are 
given i as : gold, 79*437 kilos, value $52,792,973 ; 
silver, from 1880 to 1891, about 234,000 kilos, 
value, 1880 to 1892, both inclusive, $11,676,000. 



YEAR. 


GOLD. 


SILVER. 


Kilog. 


Oz. Fine. 


Value. 


Kilog. 


Oz. Fine. 


Value. 








Dollars. 






Dollars. 


i8 93 
1894 


4,353 
4,339 


139,516 


2,892,800 
2,802,800 


52,511 


1,688,230 
1,688,230 


1,320,126 
1,063,610 


1895 


4,890 


154,000 
174,165 


3,183,000 
3,600,000 


53,500 
51,200 


1,720,025 
1,646,080 


1,122,065 
1,104,384 


1897 


5,868 


188,679 


3,000,000 


51,200 


1,646,080 


985,191 


1898 


5,567 


179,003 


3,700,000 


51,200 


1,646,080 




1899 
igocfl 


3^62 


111,272 
111,272 


2,30O,OOO 
2,300,000 


109,531 
87,089 


3,521,563 
2,8OO,OOO 


2,098,147 
1,719480 


1901 




100,145 


2,070,000 


78,380 


2,520,000 


1,485,540 


1902 


3,561*3 


120,831 


2,500,000 









1903 


4,098-0 


131,785 


2,724,000 











1904 


2,970-8 


95,520 


1,974,000 











19053 


2,970*8 


95,520 


1,974,000 


3 I > I 3'5 


1,000,000 


603,500 


1906 




105,966 


2,190,522 


30,482 


980,000 


654,552 


1907 


4)898 


I 57,47 I 


3,255,3 1 1 











1908 


4,530 


145,6^9 


3,010,565 











1909 


4,660 


150,000 


3,100,500 





i 17$, 127* 


1910 




279,342* 


3,369,941' 





407,6o> 


1911 


io,574 a 




3,75i,632 9 




210,233" 



1 The Republic of Colombia, issued by the Consulate, N.Y., 1896. 
For still other figures, from official publications, see Regel, Jalhay, 
but who in their summations appear to have overlooked the fact 
that some of the official figures represent the values in Colombian 
money and not in U.S. gold, elsewhere taken as the standard. 

* Export statistics, crude metal. 

8 Estimated same as in preceding year. The Mineral Industry, 



168 COLOMBIA 

Since 1892 I have found the foregoing statistics, i 
upon which, however, absolute reliance cannot be 
placed ; to the critical student they seem decidedly 
too low, due probably to the very large quantity 
of gold-dust privately shipped, of which no official 
record can be taken. 

In general it may be said that the principal mining 
districts of Colombia are still those that were dis- 
covered and worked by the Spaniards, in the 
historical political divisions of Antioquia, Cauca, 
Santander, and Tolima. A mention'TSF'the countless 
places where mines are worked or known would 
read almost like a gazetteer of those sections of 
Colombia : we can only mention a few of the more 
important regions, especially those that have most 
interested foreign capital. 

Antioquia has always been the chief mining section, 
<uad still maintains its lead both for quartz deposits 
and placers. Many of its mines have been con- 
tinuously worked from the Spanish and even the 
Indian days without diminution. A French engineer 
says 2 : '/^The massif of Antioquia alone is perhaps the 
richest auriferous deposit in the world, and only awaits 
hands and capital to show its immense valuep. . . 
One can say of this region, extremely mountainous 
and full of ravines, cut in all directions by fractures 
or lodes, which are nearly all goldbearing, that it 
constitutes an immense massif of gold. Barely the 
thousandth part of the deposits has been worked. 
There is gold everywhere, in variable proportions, it 
is true, but nearly always in workable and paying 
quantity." 

Of the alluvial mines, the most actively worked 

* See p. 167. 

a Demangeon : L'Industnt Aunftre en Colombie (Paris, 1906, 1907); 
the title is somewhat misleading, as the book is confined to Antio- 
quia ; it makes a very thorough study of the gold industry of that 
region. See also Granger and Treville : Mining Districts of Colombia 
'Tr. Am, Inst, Mining Eng., vol. 28 (1898)), 



MINES AND FORESTS 169 

to-day are those of the Cauca, Force, and Nechi 
Rivers and the numerous mountain streams, 
qaebradas, that flow into them. The Force flows 
into the Nechi near Zaragoza, the chief town of the 
region, whence there is steam navigation via the 
Nechi, the Cauca, and the Magdalena to Barran- 
quilla. ^The vast amount that has been washed 
from the auriferous sands of this region has not in the 
least impaired the present yield j the production by 
the natives, who prefer to work on their own account, 
even if only on a sm,all scale, is very large ; and a 
number of foreigners, especially Americans and 
French, are successfully working with hydraulic 
monitors on a large scale, and undertaking extensive 
ditching and tunnelling. > The most interesting 
developments now going 6n are for the dredging 
operations of the Pato Mines (Colombia), Ltd., a 
subsidiary of the Oroville Dredging Company, which 
has had such remarkable success in California. The 
company has already expended (exclusive of the 
purchase price of its properties, which were paid for 
in shares) considerably over half a million dollars, 
and will require for its permanent dam (to be a 
concrete structure 65 feet high, and requiring 15,000 
cubic yards of masonry it will be the finest in 
Colombia) an additional $174,000, besides other 
large expenditures. The company's bench gravel 
deposits in the Pato basin have been thoroughly 
proved by boring, special attention is being paid 
to Sjanitation, and with the company's experience 
elsewhere and its resources, this enterprise will un- 
doubtedly prove a success and redeem the rather 
unfortunate past history of dredging in Colombia. 
Development on a large scale, preparatory to 
dredging operations, is also being undertaken in 
the vicinity of Caceres by another American corpora- 
tion,^- the Breitung Mines Corporation. 

Vein mines were opened in Antioquia as early 



170 COLOMBIA 

as 1581, and worked all during the Spanish domina- 
tion, but with comparatively meagre results, due 
to the crude methods employed. In 1825 some 
rich veins near Anori were worked, and soon after 
an Englishman, Mr. James, erected the first mills 
in the country to crush the Anori ore ; anjd his 
example was soon followed, especially at Amalfi, 
Remedios, the Bolivia, Zancudo, and Frontino mines. 
In 1851 Mr. Tyrrell Moore, another Englishman, 
established a smelting plant at Titiribi for the 
auriferous ores of that rich region, including the 
Zancudo Mine, whose owners, however, erected their 
own smeltery under a German miner, Reinhold 
Paschke, and Moore's works, after an expenditure 
of 120,000, failed. Several other disastrous 
failures, especially of English companies (the 
British have gone in more for quartz mines, the 
Americans showing a preference for placers), have 
marred Colombian mining history, but, where not 
due to the introduction of machinery at a greater 
expense than the circumstances warranted, have been 
of a character to impeach the quality, not of the 
ore, but of the management, and are more than 
redeemed by the long and successful history, not 
only of native enterprises, but of other foreign 
mining companies. .One of the most notable of 
the latter is the Frontino and Bolivia Mining Com- 
pany, Ltd., which in 1852 bought the Frontino 
Mine and several others in the neighbourhood of 
Remedios (the most important of all the mining 
sections of Colombia). After weathering early 
managerial misfortunes, it has had a successful 
career, and has been almost constantly one of the 
best managed and most profitable mines in Colombia : 
of late years working costs have been very high, 
expenditure and revenue almost balancing ; but it 
is now making extensive additions in equipment, 
power-plant, and new development, which will insure, 



MINES AND FORESTS 171 

according to its engineers, a net working profit of 
3,000 a month. They report that its two prin- 
cipal mines, the Salada and the Silencio, are still 
only in their infancy, and another property, the 
Marmajito-Cogote, of great promise. Another im- 
portant mine in the same district, thought by some 
to be on the same lode, is the San Nicolas, worked 
by a French company ; this mine was the first to 
introduce the cyanide process in Colombia. 

Scarcely inferior to the production of the Remedies 
district is that of Titiribi. Here is the great gold 
and silver mine of Zancudo, which we have already 
mentioned, and its annexes, owned * and very ably 
managed by native Colombians ; originally worked 
for gold, later the silver output became far the more 
important, having reached in some years three 
quarters of a million dollars. It has the singular 
advantage, too, of being situated at the foot of an 
extensive coal deposit, and is also within convenient 
access of Medellin, the commercial centre and 
political capital of the department of Antioquia, a 
thriving and progressive city, the second in tbe 
Republic. An assay office was erected in Medellin 
in 185^ and two others in the early eighties. The 
mint for the coinage of gold and silver, closeSd for 
a number of years, has just been reopened. There 
is also a very creditable School of Mines, where 
compete^ engineers are trained ; the Antioquiefios 
are born miners. The lower classes furnish an 
excellent quality of labour, 2 which gives this generally 
healthful region a still further advantage for mining 
purposes over other parts of Colombia ; among the 

x A majority of the shares or rights is held by the Compagnie 
Unifiee da Zancado (capital 4,000,000 francs), the shares of which 
in torn are principally owned by Colombians. 

3 Labour, however, is scarce, as the men prefer to mine for then- 
own account, and even high wages often fail to tempt them into the 
employ of the large companies. 



172 COLOMBIA 

middle and upper classes, able engineers and mine 
managers are to be found. Some of the best 
managed and most profitable mines in the country, 
besides the Zancudo, e.g., La Constancia and the 
Solferino at Anori, La Cascada at Manizales, are 
operated and engineered entirely by Colombians, and 
many Antioquienos have become wealthy in the 
mining industry. 

Another rich mining section is that of Marmato 
and Supia. The mines of that name belong to the 
Government, being leased out. In 1825 the London 
firm of Goldschmidt & Co. leased the mines, and 
did much to improve the methods of mining. They 
are now under lease to the Colombian Mining and 
Exploration Company, of London, which pays the 
Government an annual rental of 3,200. Electric 
power is being installed, and a recent report says : 
" The energetic development at greater depths of 
one of the numerous groups of mines leased to this, 
company has given such excellent results and so 
fully confirmed anticipation that a 6,ooo-ton plant 
has been decided on, and shipment already com- 
menced." Near here are the Echandia mines, which 
made a celebrated fortune a few years ago for a 
Colombian named Chaves, and the Pantano mine, 
which has been successfully operated by the Western 
Andes Mining Company. All these mines are 
situated in the [Western Cordillera, not far from 
the Cauca River ; throughout the whole extept of 
the mountains surrounding the upper Cauca Valley 
some placers and quartz mines are worked, though 
hitherto on an insignificant scale. Recent purchases 
by French and Belgian syndicates, however, which 1 
in addition have procured various options, promise a 
more active development. Further south, around 
Pasto and towards the Ecuadorian frontier, a new 
rich region has been opened up in the last few years ; 
several hundred mines have been denojunced, especi- 



MINES AND FORESTS 173 

ally in the districts of Samaniego and Mallama, and 
a number of English and Americans have intro- 
duced modern machinery and are working good 
quarfz properties. 

On the eastern slopes of the Central Cordillera 
there are several localities of interest. The Mariquita 
region, which had fame in the Spanish days, is again 
active : in this range, too, are Santa Ana and La 
Manta, Government mines acquired by inheritance 
from the Spanish Crown, more interesting historically 
than of present day importance. It was here that 
in 1785 a mining engineer of great note in his day, 
d'Elhuyar, was imported by the Viceroy to introduce 
the Freiberg; process. During the eleven years he 
was in charge the expenses were $232,641, against 
a gross product of $27,247 1 Forty years later, the 
English firm of Herring, Graham, & Powles met 
with a similar experience, erecting smelting-works 
at great expense, and in thirteen years spending over 
200,000 and taking out silver valued at 28,000. 
Subsequent working by them, however, was more 
profitable. The mines are now under lease to the 
Anglo -Colombian Investment Company, of London. 
The gold veins in the Tolima district, with few excep- 
tions, are rich superficially, but pinch out at a depth 
of ten to twenty fathoms, alluvial gold washings being 
more abundant and giving better results. In this 
region the most important mines are those of the 
North Tolima Mining Company, of London, at 
Frias. Since their rediscovery in 1870 they have 
been continuously and profitably worked : in 1895 
the annual output of silver was little less than 
$800,000. The company was reorganized in 1910 
with a capital of 100,000, and has been shipping 
some 1,600 sacks (65 kilos each) of silver a year, 
by muleback to the Dorada Railroad. 

The Eastern Cordillera is of far less importance 
than the other two, though gold has been discovered 



174 COLOMBIA 

at a number of points. Here, too, was the greatest 
" bonanza " ever found in Colombia : the mine of 
Pie de Gallo yielded in a few hours 64 kilograms of 
gold, but that was in Spanish days. At present, 
the .only important foreigTQ companies are near 
Bucaramanga, the Francia Gold Mining Company, 
a French concern* especially having been particularly 
active in 1911 in acquiring title to additional mining 
claims '. 

The rivers of the Pacific littoral are nearly all 
auriferous, several of them being strikingly rich. In 
the earlier days, the Barbacoas region was especi- 
ally productive, 1 but the abolition of slavery in 1851 
crippled the placers. Again, in the sixties, there 
was quite a boom and an influx of California miners, 
but the climate proved a deterrent. Lately there 
has been a considerable revival of interest all along 
the coast -J a French company has been established 
on tKe^Timbiqui for a number of years, obtaining a 
steady, though not a very large yield. An Australian 
company has also been at work, but its first attempts 
at dredging were unsuccessful. Nothing on a large 
scale has yet been done : such production as there 
i3 from this region is obtained chiefly by native 
labourers, who still continue the primitive methods 
of washing the sands in bateas, the Colombian sub- 
stitute for the pan. 

We already had occasion in speaking of platinum 
to refer to the rich placers of the Choc6 region^, 
the Atrato and San Juan Rivers and their tributaries. 
This also was a goldfield but little inferior to Antio- 
quia in the days when slaves could be employed 
the annual output at the beginning of the nineteenth 
century was about a million dollars but until recently 

1 A very interesting and thorough account of the way these mines 
used to be worked by the negro slaves is given in Stevenson: 
Twenty Years' Residence in South America, vol. ii., p. 423 (London, 
1825). 



MINES AND FORESTS 175 

the difficulties of access, the bad climate, and reputa- 
tion for fevers, not wholly undeserved, and the decided 
inferiority of the labour, almost entirely negro, to 
that of Antioquia, have been deterrents. With in- 
creased knowledge and modern practices of sanita- 
tion and scientific methods of overcoming obstacles, 
the Choc6 will again become one of the great gold 
regions of the world. Robert Blake White, the 
English engineer, who has contributed so much to our 
knowledge of Colombia, said, speaking of the Choc6 : 
"I do not know any rivers in any country outside 
of Colombia where such favourable conditions for 
the extraction of gold exist/' and his opinion has 
been confirmed by subsequent explorers. A well- 
known American mining engineer, Henry G. 
Granger, who has discovered and located more 
claims than any other man in this section and per- 
haps in the whole of Colombia, attempted dredging 
a few years ago, but failed : nothing daunted, he 
is again at it, with new financial backing from well- 
known mining capitalists of New York. And a great 
stimulus to this section will undoubtedly be given 
by the Anglo -Colombian Development Company, of 
which mention has already been made. This com- 
pany, in addition to its own exploration work, is 
rendering a much-needed public service in establish- 
ing steamship communication on the San Juan River 
from Buenaventura. 

A useful note of warning is sounded by Consul 
Isaac A. Manning in Daily Consular Reports, 
October 31, 1912 : 

" This is not a poor man's mining country. A prospector without 
capital or backing stands little show in Colombia, largely because 
of the lack of transportation facilities, the nigged character of the 
country, the rigors of the climate, and the difficntties of securing 
supplies and food except at high prices. Principally, however, this 
is true because no quantity of 'panning* or 'rocker' gronnd is to 
be found from which the prospector can recoup his expense money. 



176 COLOMBIA 

"Scientific prospecting only will pay in Colombia. Very few 
paying ledges have been discovered, and they are frequently much 
disturbed or contain 'horses' of barren rock. That there are 
numerous deposits yet awaiting discovery cannot be doubted ; but 
as a general thing these will be found, if placer, to carry such an 
'overload* of surface material as to require machinery for satis- 
factory prospecting or development ; if quartz, to be of low grade 
and, in the main, to carry refractory ores. . . . Most of the gold 
veins in Colombia are of a very refractory nature and can be 
worked to advantage only with the most modern and improved 
machinery and systems." 

The mining laws > are very liberal, and every 
facility is given to the prospector to explore and 
denounce mines, not only in public lands, but in 
privately owned property. There is liberality, too, 
in the grant of easements necessary for the proper 
working of mines, which are treated on the same 
basis as public utilities and jthe right of expropriation 
or condemnation given for their benefit. There is, 
however, considerable red tape, and sometimes there 
is apt to be much delay before final title is adjudi- 
cated by the Government, but the danger of " jump- 
ing " claims is reduced to a minimum. The expenses 
for locating, claims, obtaining possession, and 
acquiring title are comparatively small, and the 
annual taxes are very low : and if the equivalent 
of forty years' taxes is paid in at once, an inde- 
feasible title in fee is acquired, exempt in perpetuity 
from future taxes. Another feature of the law, while 
attractive from some standpoints, especially that of 
a large company investing heavily for plant and 
machinery and naturally desiring reserve ores in the 
neighbourhood, has done much to hinder the mining 
development of the country, and that is, that so long 
as the taxes are paid no annual work whatsoever need 
be done in order to preserve the locator's rights. 

1 See The Mining Laws of Colombia, translated- with an Introduction 
and Notes by Phanor J, Eder, of the New York Bar (Washington, 
D.C., 1912). 



MINES AND FOKESTS 177 

The consequence is, there are a great number of 
mines which have been denounced and acquired 
fully half of them whose owners, for lack of capital 
or of initiative, do nothing but wait for some one 
to come along and buy them out. And because of 
exaggerated ideas as to the wealth of the properties 
which they themselves have never scientifically ex- 
plored, they often ask inflated and prohibitive prices. 
Consequently a large area of known good mining 
land lies unproductive because the owners will neither 
themselves exploit it nor permit others to do so on 
reasonable terms. The policy of the law for many 
years fluctuated greatly on this point, but the present 
system was finally adopted in 1896. There are, of 
course, two sides to the question : a reconciliation 
might perhaps be effected by amending the law as 
to future denouncements, so as to require working 
except in cases where adjoining or nearby claims are 
held under the same ownership as mines in activte 
operation. The law in regard to the use of waters 
might also be advantageously amended, so as to do 
away with the preference now given to the first 
discoverer of a mine in a neighbourhood, whether 
he works his mine or not, and likewise the procedure 
for assessing damages is susceptible of improvement, 
the present system giving plentiful opportunity for 
petty but annoying extortion. 

A valuable privilege appurtenant to mining claims 
is the preferential right to an adjudication of a large 
tract of public lands in the vicinity of the pertenenciOy 
as the mining unit of soil granted is called. As, 
with rare exceptions, the public lands in the mining 
regions are forest covered, this insures a supply of 
the necessary timber. The nation can well afford 
to be generous with its public lands and forests.. 
Even apart from 1 the great tlanais and selvas of the 
Amazon and Orinoco 'watersheds, about one-third of 
the area of the country is still in the public domain. 

13 



178 COLOMBIA 

The natural wealth of the forest areas is enormous, 
but alas ! it is for the most part inaccessible. A 
favourite form of subsidy in railroad and other con- 
cessions has been a grant of public lands. Exclusive 
rights to exploitation of the forests for a term of 
years have also been frequently given, sometimes 
for a particular product, e.g., the algarroba bean, a 
concession for which covering the whole Republic 
was given a great number of years ago and is still 
in force, sometimes for all forest products within 
defined but generously large areas. 

Such concessions in the past have proved cheats : 
they have done practically nothing to develop the 
country. The forests are often an illusory source 
of wtealth at the present time : thte natural difficulties 
of exploitation, added to the already thrice-cursed 
.obstacles of transportation and labour supply, are 
usually too great. Very little timber -cutting has 
been done : there are few sawmills in the country ; 
in the forests accessible to river and coast, two trees 
of the same species are rarely found near each other ; 
for the domestic needs of construction, boxing, and 
fuel, the trees are felled oftener with a machete^ than 
with an axe, and are sawed even lengthwise by hand, 
at which feat some of the native woodsmen are 
remarkably expert. It is only the more valuable 
cabinet and dyewoods, and occasionally railroad ties, 
that the natives take the trouble to market for export. 
The Colombian mahogany * is especially in demand 
abroad : it comes chiefly from the region of the 
Sinu, the forests of which yield other valuable export 
products rubber and balata, medicinal plants like 
ipecac, sarsaparilla, balsams, and resins : from near 
by comes the once famous balsam of Toku From the 



MINES AND FORESTS 179 

Magdalena forests, too, useful products are brought 
out. The hunt for orchids is assiduously pursued, 
and in spite of the devastation of the most favour- 
able regions, 1 the trade is still not insignificant. But 
the most important present -day exports of forest 
products are of rubber and ivory-nuts ; one of the 
chief regions for the former is the Amazon water- 
shed ; the Putumayo River, the scene of the Peru- 
vian atrocities that recently so stirred the civilized 
world, is claimed by Colombia, but its production 
scarcely figures in the export statistics of rubber 
from Colombia. Ivory-nuts come chiefly from the 
forests near the Pacific coast accessible to the ports 
of Buenaventura and Tumaco, from the Atrato and 
other sections, whence shipments are made vi Carta- 
gena ; at some places in the mountains of the Choc6 
a riotous abundance of tagua is reported, as yet 
totally jinexploited ; and from the banks of the Mag- 
dalena and its tributaries, especially the Sogamoso, 
where the best quality is found. The tagua, or 
vegetable ivory, is the kernel of a nut from a palm- 
tree, the Phytelephas macrocarpa of science, and can 
be had by the thousands for the mere trouble of 
locating the trees and picking the fallen nuts from 
the ground ; nevertheless, few attempts have been 
made to improve on the old methods of getting it 
in, which depend largely upon ttfe lazy inclinations 
of the negroes, whom it is extremely difficult to tempt 
into any activity beyond that necessary to satisfy the 
most primitive needs. 

Not all of the baldios the Government domains 
are densely wooded : far from it. There is much 
public land, fertile, favourably and healthily situated, 
and easily cleared for grazing or cultivation, that 
is to be had for the taking, and that would furaish a 
livelihood for energetic and adaptable immigrants. 
The laws as to baldios are liberal ; a colonist, by, 
1 See Millican : Adventures of an Orchid Hwtter. 



180 COLOMBIA 

cultivating and fencing, acquires title to the tract 
improved and to an adjacent area of equal dimen- 
sions ; and title can also be obtained by petition, 
surveying, and the payment of small fees. But the 
tide of immigration that Colombia so much needs 
has flowed to the other countries, because of greater 
stability of government, better educational and social 
advantages, and superior pecuniary inducements 
offered by the Governments, whereas Colombia is 
still half-hearted in her desire to attract foreign 
immigrants. Citizens there are who do not hesitate 
to publicly and emphatically declare that Colom- 
bians are better off without foreign settlers, even 
of their own religion. This is a spirit of petty 
jealousy and provincialism which loses sight of the 
fact that there is ample room in their country for 
five or ten times the present population ; that far 
from her independence being jeopardized, it would 
be strengthened and assured by such an increase ; 
that in the other Spanish American countries none 
have profited so much by the influx of foreigners 
as the natives themselves, whose political ascend- 
ancy has been no wise diminished, who cannot be 
and are not displaced, but on the contrary whose 
lands are increased in value, whose labour is better 
remunerated, whose opportunities for gain and 
advancement are enhanced much more than are the 
foreigners'. So the Colombian nation could well 
afford to be generous, not merely in throwing open 
the public lands, but in offering every possible in- 
ducement, even at a present pecuniary sacrifice, to 
the immigrant. 



CHAPTER XII 
THE COAST REGIONS 

The Goajira, Sierra Nevada de Santa Maria, Depart- 
ments of Magdalena, Bolivar and. Atlantico, the 
Chocd, the Pacific. 

IT is curious that the first land in Colombia visited by 
the white man is still inhabited almost entirely by 
unsubjected Indians, descendants probably of those 
Caribs who made such sturdy resistance to the early 
onslaughts of the Spaniards. To this day,- the 
Goajiros, a hardy, warlike race, have maintained 
in large measure their independence ; although carry- 
ing on commercial intercourse with the whites and 
nominally submissive to the authority of the Colombia 
Government, they have hitherto resisted all attempts 
at subjection or civilization. 

They inhabit the Goajira Peninsula, a low plain 
extending from the Gulf of Maracaibo in Venezuela 
westward .until the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta 
is reached an arid, sandy, and unproductive stretch, 
except in the southern part. Its only river of any 
note is the one that may be called its boundary, the 
Rio Hacha (also called Rancheria), at the mouth of 
which is the small port of the same name. Here is 
handled such little trade as there is, 1 the Indians 
coming into the town to barter their horses and cattle, 
hides, pearls, brazil wood and dividivi, for bright- 
coloured cloths, corn, hardware and, of course, fire- 
arms and the still more destructive rum. Singularly 
1 Exports (1911), $234,460; imports* $83,969. 

181 



182 COLOMBIA 

among the South American Indians, the Goajiros are 
expert riders, so of horses they breed a good stock A 
sturdy if not sleek. 

The harbour is poor, the water being shallow for 
a long distance from shore, so that all trade is 
handled by lighters. Steamers rarely call here, traffic 
being by sailing vessels with Santa Marta or Curagoa. 

Hides, goatskins, and the dividivi used for tanning 
and found wild in the forests of the southern part, 
constitute the chief articles of export from Riohacha, 
much of the trade of the Goajiro Indians, however, 
being diverted by Venezuelans from the Gulf of 
Maracaibo. These Indians are divided into a number 
of tribes, each living apart from the others, leading 
a rather nomad existence and organized somewhat 
like the old Scottish clans. The tribes are almost 
constantly in feud one with another, the duty pf 
vengeance, like the vendetta, being passed on from 
generation to generation, and woe to the white man 
who gets in the way. Physically they are of average 
height, well proportioned, even handsome. Those 
near the coast live on fish, those in the interior chiefly 
on meat. They sleep in haitimocks of their own 
weaving and their huts are built up on poles and 
roofed with the stems and leaves of reeds. The in- 
habitants of the lake-front dwell in similar huts, with 
the peculiarity, which struck the original discoverers 
so forcibly, that the piles are driven into the bottom 
of the lake and the huts appear above the water. 

In the central and southern portions of the penin- 
sula there is a zone of greater fertility, and even the 
northern sandy stretch could be irrigated and made 
productive. The mineral wealth of the peninsula, 
salt, lignite, anthracite, large deposits of phosphates, 
is unexploited, although road building would be easy. 
The Goajiros their number is variously estimated 
at from 30,000 to 60,000 could undoubtedly be 
" civilized " and converted into useful labourers for 



THE COAST REGIONS 183 

the benefit of their civilizers, if the well-meant efforts 
of the Catholic missionaries received greater en- 
couragement and support. The missionaries have 
devised the only practicable means of educating them, 
namely, receiving the young children as internes in 
special schools, which are called orfelinatos, where, 
" orphaned " from their parents, they receive far 
kinder treatment than ever they would get at home. 
Politically, the Goajira Peninsula belongs to the 
Department of Magdalena, the capital of which is 
Sant|, Marta, the oldest city in Colombia. Its well- 
sheltered harbour made it at one time a commercial 
rival of Cartagena, but it had sunk into a decadence 
which became intensified when the completion of 
the Barranquilla Railway took away the last vestiges 
of its trade with the interior departments, to revive 
with the rapid growth in the last few years of the 
banana industry under the stimulus of the United 
Fruit Company. In 1911, 154 steamers and 115 
sailing-vessels touched at Santa Marta. The banana 
plantations are situated on the low-lying plains made 
humid by the Magdalena and by streams from the 
mountains situated between the sea and the foot of 
the Sierra Nevada, especially along the 4o-mile 
stretch of railroad from Cienaga to the terminus of 
the line. The production has grown by leaps and 
bounds, as the following table of exports in the last 
ten years shows : 

Year. No. of Brooches. 

1902 .................. 314,006 

1903 .................. 475>448 

1904 .................. 787,244 

IQOS .................. 863,750 

1906 .................. 1,295,228 

1907 .................. *78397 

1908 .., ............... 2,028,850 

1909 



1912 (first six months) ......... 2,295,185 . 



184 COLOMBIA 

The value at Santa Marta of the banana exports 
for 1911 is officially given as $2,112,855 and for 
the first six months of 1912 at $1,010,217 ; other 
exports (1911) $190,368; imports $37%>7S I * 

The banana possibilities of the region are far from 
exhausted. The area under cultivation is some 
22,000 acres, consisting, according to the tax roll for 
1911, of 332 plantations, on which some 5,000 
labourers, nearly all negroes, find employment, valued 
at $2,553,200 ; * while there is still some 100,000 
acres not developed, niost of it Government land, 
which is adapted for banana raising and to which 
the railroad could be readily and in all likelihood 
will soon be extended. In point of health it compares 
rather favourably with! banana regions in other 
countries. The prevalent malaria could, with proper 
sanitation, be kept in check : as a first step, the 
United Fruit Company is now planning a modern 
hospital in Santa Marta. Against this all-powerful 
company there Jias been inuch complaint, as there 
naturally would be against any monopoly ; 2 but 
some of the complaints have undoubtedly been justi- 
fied. Some planters, especially the absentee land- 
lords of Barranquilla, have even complained that 
they, are not making any money, but there is little 

1 This valuation was made on a basis of $140 per hectare, whereas 
in the opinion of the Governor of the Department the average value 
is $400, which would give a total valuation of nearly $8,000,000. 

a The Atlantic Fruit Company, another American Corporation, 
assisted in a measure by the Hamburg American Line, attempted 
recently to break this monopoly, by^enticing the planters to violate 
their contracts with the United and purchasing or leasing a number 
of plantations, but through financial difficulties was unable to com- 
plete the payments. The United Fruit Company, which had un- 
successfully endeavoured first in the Colombian, then in tfee New 
York Courts to obtain a temporary injunction against the Atlantic 
Fruit Company, then purchased several of these plantations. The 
fiight is still on, the Atlantic, now reorganized, continuing to ship con- 
siderable quantities of bananas, and the planters getting the benefit 
of increased prices. 



THE COAST REGIONS 185 

doubt that the industry has been extremely profit- 
able, not only for the United Fruit Company and the 
railroad, but also for the planters. The total cost 
of clearing the land and raising the first crop is 
estimated at about $45 an acre and the annual yield 
at $40 an acre. 

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the huge 
mountain mass, with a base of over 5,000 square 
miles in area, which dominates the banana region, 
presents a very great variety of climate and soil, 
ranging from the tropical zone at its base to the 
intense cold of its perpetually snow-clad summits, 
the highest of which is 19,000 feet. It is because 
of its great extent of lands climatically temperate 
and healthy, its large area capable of producing 
northern crops, while the valleys and plains at the 
foot of the hills can yield tropical and sub-tropical 
products, and of its nearness to the sea, that this 
favoured region seems destined to receive a large 
influx of foreign immigration ; but at present the 
only crop that is receiving much attention on the 
mountain is coffee^ many new plantations of which 
are being started. 

According to the tax roll of the Department of 
Magdalena there were in 1911 1,718 coffee estates, 
valued at $302,158, most of which are situated on 
the Sierra ; 99 cacao plantations, valued at 
$162,240; 505 small sugar plantations, valued at 
$316,508 ; and 9,442 houses, valued at $2,972,276.* 

In the colder climes of the Sierra Nevada live the 
Ahruaco Indians, a docile race, in marked contrast 
to their near neighbours, the Goajiros. The Goajiro 
wears little clothing ; the Ahruaco, as a protection 
against the cold, wears heavy cotton clothing, con- 
sisting of trousers and a long, heavy, characteristic 
mantle. Their huts are round and very low, and with 

1 All these valuations also are too low in tke opinion of the 
Governor. 



186 COLOMBIA 

but a small entrance, closed with a door. These 
Indians are nominally Christians, there being several 
chapels in their villages, but rarely priests to fill 
them. They are also " civilized/' but their wants 
are few. Their furniture and household belongings 
are scanty a cooking-pot, a pair of wooden stools 
and knapsacks constituting their sole furniture. 
Boards in the upper part of the hut serve for their 
sleeping quarters. "Man and wife live separate, 
consequently the huts usually are in pairs, one close 
to another ; between the two there is a stone on 
which the wife places food for the husband. Here 
he eats his meal and entertains himself when his 
wife and children are by." They are fond of eating, 
but can go a long time without food, especially when 
they chew coca, a habit which plays an important 
part in their life. They live chiefly on vegetable 
food, of which they raise diversified crops from wheat 
to plantains. Meat they seldom eat, but they indulge 
in lizards and snails. The women do the work while 
the men chew coca and get drunk on the rum which 
the white man gives them in trade for their cattle, 
to which they devote little trouble, the animals being 
left to graze at large. 

On the rear or southern slopes and at the foot of 
the Sierra Nevada lies the fertile valley of the River 
Cesar and the Valle Dupar section. The absence of 
good roads has prevented the development of this 
promising region, and, moreover, the white settlers 
have at times been driven away by the onslaughts of 
the Motilones Indians, who dwell in the forests of the 
Eastern Cordillera to the east. The region watered 
by the lower Cesar and its tributaries is undoubtedly 
one of the richest - agriculturally in Colombia : 
numerous mountain streams provide power and 
natural irrigation : there are large stretches of 
natural pasture in the valley of the main river and 
in the vegas and valleys of its affluent streams 



THE COAST REGIONS 187 

the swampy lands, even, well adapted for rice 
culture, could be profitably utilized. The upper 
Cesar, free from the Motilones, is better settled and 
a variety of crops are raised. There is mineral 
wealth, too coal, copper, oil but unexploited. The 
present outlets are the Cesar Rivter, navigable for small 
boats, and a trail to Rio Hacha and to Banco, a river 
port on the Magdalena at its junction with the Cesar. 
Government engineers have made preliminary surveys 
for a road between Chiriguana, on the lower Cesar, and 
Riohacha, the length of which would be only some 
200 miles and level all the way. This road or others 
round or across the Sierra Nevada to Santa Marta 
is badly needed as a civilizing factor and developer 
for this, one of the most promising and diversified 
sections in the north of Colombia. With it, especi- 
ally, the Motilones Indians, whose total number 
cannot be more than 3,000 or 4,000, could be civi- 
lized or at least be prevented from terrorizing, as 
they do now, a part of the rich Cesar region. 

Launches traffic regularly through one of the 
mouths of the Magdalena between the Santa Marta 
railway and Barranquilla, whose commercial impor- 
tance we have already had occasion to mention in 
this volume. Half the foreign commerce of 
Colombia passes through it. Its exports (1911) 
$8,244,491 ; imports, $9,613,555. The activities 
of its merchants, among whom there are many 
foreigners, Germans predominating, have kept this 
city, since thirty or forty years ago, in the van of 
progress in Colombia. To-day its population 
reaches 52,000. The lower classes are chiefly black, 
including quite a few West Indian negroes. For 
the most part, they find employment in the factories 
and in connection with the large shipping business 
of the city. The industries include ship repair yards, 
brick manufacture, tanneries, soap, match, candle, and 
shoe factories, ice and electric plant, flour-mills, and 



188 COLOMBIA 

a large cot ton -spinning factory which employs some 
2,000 male and female operatives. Barranquilla is 
rapidly improving the most disagreeable feature, the 
thick dust that covered the streets, is being done 
away with by recent paving. The town can boast of 
many material comforts telephones, tramways, hack 
service, electric lighting, good shops, an excellent 
market, a theatre, a hospital and there is consider- 
able social life. With its cosmopolitanism, the city 
would be an agreeable residence for foreigners, were 
it not for the discomforting heat, which is often quite 
trying to the newcomer. The sanitation of the city, 
too, could stand improvement ; the water supply is 
not of the best, and the sewerage system defective, 
but there are a few progressive doctors in the town 
who will, it is hoped, compel the introduction of 
hygienic measures. The project perennially revived 
of improving the Ceniza mouth of the Magdalena, 
so as to make Barranquilla a seaport, is once again 
being put forth. But as with so many other projects, 
in Colombia, quien sabe? 

West of Barranquilla, situated near still another 
mouth of the Magdalena, the Dique or so-called canal, 
is Cartagena, the city of greatest historical interest 
in the New World " Queen of the Indies " was 
her proud title in the Spanish days. What memories 
does not the name evoke of the visits of the fleets, 
vast treasure-ships, of the daring exploits of Drake 
and Morgan, of buccaneers and pirates, for whom 
the city was a rich prize, of Vernon's unsuccessful 
siege, and of the dreaded Holy Inquisition ! As a 
defence against pirates and as a protection against 
foreign enemies, the massive walls and fortifications 
which made this the strongest fortress in the New 
World were ordered to be built by King Philip the 
Second. Erected at a cost of $59,000,000, an 
enormous sum in those days, they still, stand, an 
impressive monument to the majesty that was Spain 



THE COAST REGIONS 189 

and the glory that was the Queen of the Indies. 
During the struggle for independence, by a brave 
resistance to a four months' siege by the Spaniards 
;(i8is) ? she endeared herself for ever to the hearts 
of Colombians and earned a new title, " The City 
Heroic." 

Cartagena has preserved her old Spanish char- 
acter ; besides her ramparts and fortifications, many 
of her churches and public buildings are relics of 
the past ; nowhere in the Caribbean cruises now 
so popular do tourists find any town at all approach- 
ing Cartagena in point of interest. The city is 
modernized somewhat, what with electric lighting and 
telephones, shoe, soap, candle, chocolate factories, etc. 
But her glory is irrevocably past she is a worsted 
rival of Barranquilla for commercial supremacy, 
and no different commercially from! a dozen -other 
minor ports in Spanish America and the West 
Indies. In the last few years she is gradually 
rising from the musty lethargy a,nd utter business 
decadence into which shte had fallen. Besides secur- 
ing, through the railroad, a large part of the 
Magdalena River traffic, she obtains the trade from 
the Sinu and Atrato sections, but this latter seems 
destined to be ultimately taken from her. The total 
imports in 1910 were $3,951,565 (United Kingdom, 
$1,620,735; United States, $1,338,895 ; Germany, 
$575,135) ; exports, $4,984,739 ($2,556,289 to the 
United States, $1,230,055 to the United Kingdom, 
$780,920 to Germany). In 1911 imports were 
$4>335>8o5 and exports $5,927,15*9. 

Large parts of the Departments of Bolivar and 
Atlantico are vast plains gently sloping to the sea 
or to the Magdalena, well populated and admirably 
adapted for tropical agriculture and cattle pastures ; 
on these savannahs, especially centred at Sabanalarga, 
Sincelejo, a progressive town of 25,000 inhabitants, 
and Corozal, large herds of beef-cattle graze. In 



190 COLOMBIA 

the vicinity of the town of Carmen, tobacco is grown 
for export as well as for domestic consumption ; 
the climatic and soil conditions bear some resem- 
blance to those of Cuba, but little attempt has been 
made to improve the plant or the methods of pick- 
ing and curing the leaf. In the Department of 
Bolivar, the most notable industrial development is 
the sugar central at Sincerin, on the Dique, erected 
and owned i by native Colombians, progressive 
merchants of Cartagena, and "representing an invest- 
ment stated to be about a million dollars. The 
capacity of the mill and factory is twenty tons of 
sugar a day, which makes it the largest in the whole 
Republic the next in size and importance being that 
of La Manuelita y erected a few years earlier 
at Palmira, in the Cauca Valley, five tons a day, 
owned by the Cauca Valley Agricultural Company of 
New York, which is controlled by an American 
family that has been identified with Colombia for 
over half a century. The Sincerin central has the 
advantage of being within easy and cheap access 
of the Atlantic, and consequently exports a large 
part of its output : La Manuelita possesses a: 
superior climate and soil, but manufactures sugar 
only for domestic consumption. 

The lowlying cattle plains extend to and beyond 
the Sinu River, the forests of whose upper course 
have been exploited for many years for mahogany 
and other woods, in connection wherewith several 
foreign companies have set up sawmills. .The logs 
are transported to the river chiefly by oxen, and 
then embarked principally at the bay of Sispata for 
the United States, 

The interesting little group of islands known as 
San Andres and 1 Providencia (St. Andrews and 
Providence) were, until the present year, politically 

1 The legal title is in a New York corporation, the shares of 
which are owned as stated in the text. 



THE COAST REGIONS 191 

dependent on the Department of Bolivar. They are 
now governed by a direct appointee from Bogotd. 
Of great historical interest a bone of contention 
between Spaniards and English in early West Indian 
days, 1 and a noted pirates' haunt, they are to-day 
almost forgotten. By the Colombian Government 
they have heretofore been completely abandoned, and 
it seems a mere accident of good fortune that juris- 
diction has been retained over these remote posses- 
sions. The population consists of about 5,000, 
nearly all blacks and mulattoes. Most of them are 
of Jamaican descent, but some on Providence Island 
are generally supposed to be descended from pirates 
and their negro women. The curious thing about 
these inhabitants is that the sole language of nearly 
all of them is English, although they are citizens 
of a Spanish nation. The predominating religion 
is Protestant. The sole source of wealth is coco-nuts, 
of which some three to six million are annually 
exported, shipped by sailing vessels to the States 
either direct or vii Colon. The imports amount to 
$60,000 or $70,000 a year. These islands deserve 
to be better known : the climate is good, and San 
Andres is one of the prettiest little harbours in the 
West Indies the channel is deep, save for a bar 
at the entrance which gives only 15 feet of water, 
but could be easily removed. The Colombian 
Government cherishes vague ambitions of making 
San Andres a coaling station for vessels using the 
Panama route. 

Following the coast westward from Cartagena we 
next come to the Gulf of Urabi or Darien the scene 
of the illfated first attempts of the Spaniards to 
found a colony. Now, as then, the insalubrity of 

1 See the State Papers, Colonial-West Indies. So far as I am 
aware no historian of Colombia has ever made use of these valuable 
sources of information, which throw many an interesting sidelight 
on the history of the New Granada colony. 



192 COLOMBIA 

the climate has deterred settlers, but some important 
developments are to be noted. The rivers flowing 
into and which have formed the Gulf are the Leon 
and the Atrato. At the mouth of the Leon, a 
German Company, the Consorcia Albingia, is under- 
taking extensive dock and harbour improvements and 
doing a little local railroad building in connection 
with banana plantations. American alarmists fear 
that banana cultivation is but a pretext that the 
improvements at Puerto Cesar, as the new port is 
called, are in reality intended as the basis for a 
coaling station for the German navy, in menacing 
proximity to the Panama Canal. The known back- 
ing of the Consorcia Albingia by the Hamburg 
American line, in which the Kaiser is reputed to 
be a large shareholder, coupled with the interest 
taken in the development by the German diplo- 
matists in Colombia, lend a little colour to these 
fearful suppositions probably unfounded, however 
for the Hamburg American line is very naturally 
fostering rivals to its competitor, the United Fruit 
Company, and the support that German officialdom: 
lends to commercial enterprises is universal, and the 
application of such support in this specific instance 
is readily explainable without the imputation of 
ulterior motives. 

The Atrato River, the northern gateway to the 
Choc6, is navigable as far as and a little beyond 
Quibdo, and would be so even for ocean-going 
steamers were it not for the bars that close itsi 
mouth to all but boats of the lightest draught 3 
or 4 feet. Once past these bars it attains at places 
great depth, and pours forth an enormous quantity 
of water, due to the incessant rains of its water- 
shed. Its course flows in such close proximity to 
the Pacific Ocean that it was naturally one of the 
routes advocated and explored for an interoceajnic 
canal before the Panama way was finally decided 



THE COAST REGIONS 193 

on. Several connections with the Pacific were sug- 
gested by the Napipi, by the Truando, and by the San 
Juan ; a legend, hard to kill, has it that in the old 
days a Spanish priest actually did construct a canal 
for canoes, linking the oceans, between the Atrato 
and San Juan across the arrastradero over the short 
lowlying dividing range. The Colombians still cling 
to the hope that soon the Atrato canal will be built, 
to rival the Panama, but no practical man can con- 
sider this as any but a forlorn quixotic hope, a 
wild dream. 

The mountain section in the Choc6 district, when 
better known and opened to travel, seems destined 
to become of importance ; we have already ha:d 
occasion to speak of its probable mineral wealth ; 
the lowlands are peculiarly well adapted to rubber 
cultivation, which has already been started, to cacao, 
to bananas, and other frtiits of the tierra caliente ; 
the forests are exceptionally rich, and the rivere 
San Juan and Atrato, and to a lesser extent the 
Baudo, could furnish cheap water transportation. It 
cannot be denied, however, that some regions of 
the Choc6 are about as unhealthy a locality as can 
be found anywhere in the tropics ; above an altitude 
of 3,500 or 4,000 feet, however, with due regard 
to sanitation, distinctly healthful climates could be 
had, but it would still rain incessantly I 

The principal exports of the Choco besides the 
precious metals are vegetable ivory, rubber, medi- 
cinal plants, and woods. A census taken in 1909 
gave the number of planted trees in the Choc6 
territory as follows : Rubber 1,197,728, cacao 
663,334, coffee 38,000, plantains 13,746,897 from 
which it will be readily inferred that the plantain 
forms the staple article of food. Of the population 
of 80,000, only 5,000 are white : there are a few 
Indian tribes, but the Vast majority are the descjen- 
dants of the slave negroes, who have here found an 



194 COLOMBIA 

environment and an abundance of easy food supply 
suitable, in spite of malaria, to their rapid increase. 
The chief town of the territory is jQuibdo, a clean, 
well-built town of 5,000 inhabitants and a centre 
of considerable commerce. A sawmill is in "active 
operation, and there are three or four other saw- 
mills, some steam, some water-power, throughout 
the Choc6, which send a little cut lumber to Carta- 
gena, Barranquilla, or Buenaventura. Istmina and 
No vita are the other chief villages of the territory. 
The Pacific coast from Panama south to Buena- 
ventura offers little of present-day interest a few 
miserable little fishing or foresters' villages alone 
brave the almost continual rains and the rava'ging 
heat that beset this coast. There are several bays 
that afford fair anchorage, but as there are no roads 
across the Baudo range and only one or two poor 
ones across the Western Cordillera, there has been 
no inducement to settlers ; but because of its proxi- 
mity to the Panama Canal it is likely that the 
region, in spite of its bad climate, will be developed. 
Its forests will be sought for their timber, its hills 
and mountains for minerals, and its plains and 
valleys devoted perhaps to bananas, rubber, and 
cacao. An outlet for the trade of Antioquia could 
readily be furnished by a road that has been talked 
of from Medellin across the mountain ranges to the 
Pacific at Cupica : in a bee-line the distance is 
only about a hundred miles. 

The prospects, however, are not particularly invit- 
ing for either timbering or agricultural enterprises. 
The one or two persons who have investigated the 
coast with a view to its business possibilities have 
returned with more malaria than enthusiasm about 
opportunities. As a rule, there is but a very narrow 
strip between the mangrove swamps along the coast 
and the mountains that would be suitable for agri- 
culture or for timbering. 




CHOCO INDIAN. 




CHOCO NEGRO. 



THE COAST REGIONS 195 

Buenaventura, the first port of call for steamers 
south of Panama, from which it is distant 360 miles, 
derives its chief importance from being the outlet 
for the Cauca section. It possesses the advantage 
of an excellent harbour, the most beautiful of any 
on the whole Pacific coast. Lest I be deemed pre- 
judiced, let me quote the noted geographer, Colonel 
Church : r "I have visited many of the ports of 
the Pacific coast (of America), and this one I find 
the most beautiful of them. It is easy of access 
from the sea, spacious, and affords ample protection, 
and accommodation for ships of large tonnage." 
Thus Nature. How man? Its present population is 
only 3,000 ; it lacks a dock ; its storehouses are 
insufficient, it affords scant accommodation to 
travellers, who usually therefore impose on the 
hospitality of friends (kind Samaritans indeed are 
the masters of the railroad and the cable house and 
others), and besides is malignantly malarial. Yellow 
fever, the plague, and typhoid, it has managed to keep 
free of for a number of years. With the completion 
of the railroad to Cali, the importance of the port 
will be augmented, and improvements will have to 
be made. But it is unfortunate for Colombia that 
to-day she puts not her best but ,her worst foot 
forward the casual traveller on her coasts forms 
a shabby opinion of the country from h,er ports 
and gets not even an inkling of the charm anjd; 
worth of the interior provinces. 

The trade of Buenaventura is considerable : its 
exports in 1910 amounted to $1,153,523, and im- 
ports $1,278,381, and in 1911, $r,78o,/42 and 
$1,853,537 respectively. The greater portion comes 
from or goes to the Cauca Valley, but there is some 
traffic, as we have seen, with the Choco vii the San 
Juan River, and some, but less, with the nearby coasts, 
which produce ivory-nuts, rubber, and gold-dust. 
1 Geog. Jour., vol. 17 (April, 1901), p. 350. 



196 COLOMBIA 

About a hundred miles south is the little village 
of Guapi, which has lately been made a port of 
entry ; but little trade can be expected from it, unless 
the American company which has recently started 
a sawmill on a modest scale greatly develops its 
business or other new enterprises spring up. A 
road across the Cordillera from Popayan to Micay, 
a bit north of Guapi, has been recently opened up, 
but it also is little used so far. Bait mining may 
probably develop extensively, as the coast rivers are 
nearly all auriferous and some are already worked. 

Tumaco (population 4,416), situated on a small 
island 200 miles south of Buenaventura, is the only 
other Colombian port of call for steamers on the 
Pacific : the same Pacific Steam 1 Navigation 
Company boats that visit Buenaventura touch here, 
affording a poor, expensive, and not too regular 
service. It is not such a good harbour as 
Buenaventura, as there are some nasty, sasnds and 
shallows that should be dredged, and, moreover, the 
island whereon it is situated is being gradually! 
encroached upon by the sea, and is in some danger; 
of being swallowed up unless defensive measures, 
talked of but not initiated, are taken : on the other 
hand, it h!as a far less disagreeable and dangerous 
climate than its northern rival. Five small steamers 
and some launches are in service, vii the Patia &nd 
the Xelembi, to Barbacaos, a river-port formerly 
noted for its mines but now in decadence, whence 
mule-roads lead into the interior. Thfc principal 
exports for 1911 were "Panama" Hats (mjaixufac- 
tured in the interior), $521,158 ; gold, $381,892 ; 
tagwi Xv-qgetable ivory), $358,886 ; rubber, 
$230/467,; and cacao, $86/644. Total exports, 
$i>573>34o; imports, $1,0.53,494. 

The Patia River, which we have just mentioned, 
is remarkable in several respects : in the first place, 
it is the only, river in S.outhl America, that has 



THE COAST REGIONS 197 

broken its way through the Andes chain to flcxw 
into the Pacific : it has its source in the giant 
mountain mass in the southern portion of Colombia,, 
wtiere the three great divisions of the Andes are) 
united, and flows first in the hollow between th.6 
Central Cordillera and the Western Cordillera. 
Through the latter it has cleaved a; remarkable 
passage, where in a rapidly rushing torrent some- 
times not more than 20 feet wide, in the course 
of a few miles, it drops over a thousand feet, with 
the mountains towering thousands of feet above it 
on each side. Upon emerging it receives tribute 
from many streams and becomes a broad, winding 
river, navigable for small steamers, though with 
some difficulty during the dry season. It is in the 
basin of the upper Patia that the hosts of locusts 
which are a plague to agriculture in many sections 
of Colombia are supposed to originate. The section 
is exceedingly fertile and rich, but has the reputa- 
tion, as has also the lower course of the river, of 
being extremely unhealthful. 

South of Tumaco to the Ecuadorian frontier 
again is of slight present-day importance except for 
a little mining and ivory-nut and rubber exploitation. 
The dividing line with Ecuador is formed by the 
River Mira, the course of whichi is navigable for 
launches for some 30 miles, but occupies a heavily 
wooded and almost uninhabited forest. 

The population of the Pacific coast, like that of 
the Choc6, is almost entirely negro or mulatto,. 
These negroes are about the laziest lot in Colombia ; 
absolutely without ambition, they are content to live 
from day to day with the barest necessities, although 
the means of obtaining some little wealth are at 
hand. They are as care-free as thfey are indolent, 
but they are not vicious, and are physically strong,- 
skilled and daring boatmen and swimmers, intelli- 
gent though totally uneducated, and generally sub- 



198 COLOMBIA 

missive to the authorities. Their huts, devoid of 
all furniture, they can put up in half a day and 
are settled for life, the girls marrying or rather 
mating and bearing children at ten and twelve 
years of age. Where left without any intercourse 
with the whites, as happens in some remote forest 
regions, they degenerate into African barbarism, 
leading a life as near to that of savages as caji 
well be imagined. Disease is allowed to spread 
unchecked, arid their lot, from the standpoint of the 
European, is indeed a miserable one, but they are 
happy in it. 

The mulatto of the interior and Atlantic .coast 
towns is a far more interesting type, and constitutes 
an important element in Colombian life. He has often 
gained great prominence in law, journalism; and in 
politics and revolutions, where he is usually on the 
Liberal side. To generalize : he is lively, passionate, 
subject to alternate moods of indolence and activity 
when enthusiasm and his fertile imagination haVe 
spurred him on ; he is a poet of tropical exuber- 
ance, but little depth ; is extremely sociable, artistic, 
and musical, voluble, and braggart ; will dance for 
hours and days ; is capable of arduous labour and 
often displays great heroism ; takes readily to edu- 
cation and literature, arid then despises manual 
labour-; his vanity alone makes him ambitious,. 
Physically he favours his African ancestors, but is 
somewhat more attenuated ; intellectually, and 
temperamentally, he has assimilated much from his 
Spanish progenitors. Truly an interesting type, pre- 
senting latent good qualities, but also possibilities of 
danger and degeneration a factor to be seriously 
reckoned with in Colombia. Whither will his 
evolution lead? That no one can predict. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE ANDEAN REGIONS 

The Departments of the Central and, Western 
Cordilleras Antioquia, Caldas, Valle> Cauca, 
Narino, Tolima, and Httila. 

IT was to the interior mountain and plateau 
regions, at altitudes where the climate was more 
like that at home, that the Spaniards were invari- 
ably attracted, no matter the distance from the 
coast. High up in cool regions throughout Spanish 
America, important capitals were founded Mexico 
City, Cartago, Quito, Caracas, La Paz, Cuzco all 
situated out of the debilitating reach of the lowland 
heat and incidentally safe from the attack of enemies 
besetting the coast. In Colombia, too, the same 
rule was observed ; the Spaniards sought out the 
Andine regions to found their homes. In the old 
cities like Bogotd and Popayan, Benalcazar's capital, 
the aristocratic families held sway and preserved the 
purity of their race, except occasionally in the earliest 
days, when, the idea of the divinity of royalty extant, 
it was considered no dishonour for a conquistador 
to marry the daughter of an Indian chief. Else- 
where there has been a strong admixture with the 
Indians. As a consequence of the varying degrees 
of intermixture and of the varying characteristics, 
on the one hand of the Indian stocks thus absorbed, 
and on the other of the lack of homogeneity among; 

199 



200 COLOMBIA 

the conquering Spaniards, themselves of various 
races Celt, Teuton, Basque, Moor, Jew and of the 
widely differing types, Castillian, Andalusian (the 
most, numerous settlers in Colombia), Galician, 
Catalan, etc., plus the different environments in 
which these complex blood mixtures found them- 
selvesseveral very distinct characters or types have 
in the course of the centuries developed in Colombia. 
For though we speak in the mass of the Andine 
region, yet local conditions of altitude, climate, and 
soil have differed greatly here life came easy, there 
hard work was necessary for subsistence ,* here an 
exuberance of nature, there dry air and an arid soil ; 
here blazing sunlight, there cold mists and fogs. By 
the time of the Independence, the types now gener- 
ally recognized among the " white " Colombians the 
term *- white " often includes Indian mixtures had 
become fairly well fixed. The further evolution has 
been complicated by the gradual dispersion and inter- 
marriage of folk from the various regions, and the 
somewhat slower infusion into the " best circles " 
of drops of colour from parvenus. Each locality 
has its own peculiar characteristics, well worthy of 
study. In the last chapter we gave a fleeting glimpse 
of the inhabitants of the coast. Now we can only 
find space to mention the more general types of 
the Andeans the Antioqueno, the Caucano ; the 
Tolimense, the Bogotano, etc., and to review briefly 
their habitats. 

The Antioqueno through 1 the ages has had to 
work harder for a living than his brothers elsewhere : 
the soil was not so fertile ; greater attention had 
to be paid to agriculture ; mining required ingenuity, 
initiative, and enterprise ; he has, therefore, de- 
veloped into a harder -working, more practical, more 
self -asserting, and more persevering man than other 
Colombians. His business ability and shrewdness 
as a trader has been attributed to a possibly stronger 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 201 

admixture in his veins of Hebrew blood, the belief 
being that among the early settlers of Antioquia 
were numerous Nuevos Cristianos converted or 
secret Jews the supposition, for which there is only 
scanty historical evidence, 1 being asserted to be cor- 
roborated by their fondness for biblical names for 
themselves and their towns, and by; a supposed 
facial resemblance. To this alleged descent, too, 
is attributed their remarkable prolificness ; bachelor- 
dom is almost a disgrace : they marry early and 
run to astonishingly large families families of ten 
and twelve children, proudly presented to you by 
their parents as little servidores de Usted, are the 
rule rather than the exception. One prominent 
Antioquian family of the present day consists of 
twenty-nine brothers of the whole blood 1 As a 
consequence they emigrate from home, colonize new 
regions, and become traders in old', and are spread- 
ing throughout Colombia. From a business stand- 
point they are believed by many to be the future 
salvation of the country. 

The former Antioquia is now divided into two 
departments. The northern has retained the name, 
the southern has been called CaHas, in honour of 
Colombia's most distinguished scientist. Both de- 
partments, as might be expected from the character 
of their inhabitants, who add an aversion to revolu- 
tions to their other good qualities, are among the 
most prosperous in Colombia. In the country dis- 
tracts, mining, as we saw in a previous chapter, 
is the principal industry, but agriculture, too, is 
extensively carried on ; the Antioquienos prefer to 
be their own masters, so small landholdings are th<e 
rule, and this especially has tended to the increase 
of coffee production, for coffee is a troublesome 
crop to pick, and outside labour on a large scale in 

* The immigration at one time of some two hundred converted 
Jewish families is reported. 



202 COLOMBIA 

other parts of the country is often hard to secure. 
The area of the Department of Antioquia, accord- 
ing to statistics 'published for the year 1907, was 
6,772,744 hectares, of which 4,111,322 were 
Government lands (chiefly to the north and west), 
1,733,095 forest lands, privately owned, and 928,327 
hectares over two million acres were under cultiva- 
tion. Of these, 600,238 hectares were in pasture, 
178,599 in maize, 35>3 6 9 in frijoles (beans), 
33,268 in sugar-cane, 26,820 in coffee, 21,969 in 
plantains, 21,95/5 in yucca, and the rest in rice, 
wheat, potatoes, barley, etc. 

Planted on these two firm legs, farming and 
mining, commerce naturally thrives. But the 
political capital of Antioquia, Medellin, is not 
only the most important trading centre in Colombia, 
but is also noteworthy for its manufactures. New 
industries are constantly springing up ; at the time 
of writing, eleven new factories are being erected. 
The cotton and cloth mills two, equipped with all 
modern machinery, are especially important have 
been remarkably successful, and are turning out yarn, 
drills, ducks, prints, cloths, shirts, underclothing, 
stockings of a quality to compete with the imported. 
There are shoe factories, ice and electric plants, soap, 
Candle, chocolate manufactures, glass and bottling 
works, breweries, iron and steel works, etc. The 
population is not quite 70,000, but its wealth is out 
of all proportion to the number of inhabitants. There 
are few, if any, cities of its size in the whole of South 
America that possess the wealth that Medellin does. 
Many of its business men have amassed fortunes, and 
handsome business blocks and elegant residences 
adorn the city, which is situated at an altitude of 
4,600 feet on the banks of a small stream in a 
picturesque valley. The mining industry of the sur- 
rounding region naturally leaves its strong mark on 
the capital ; there are assay offices and chemical 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 203 

laboratories (rarely found in Colombia), a school 
of mines, a museum, and a good public library. 
Recreation is provided by two theatres and a bull- 
ring which can accommodate 5,000 spectators. Edu- 
cation is well looked after : there are 52 primary 
schools, a number of secondary schools, a normal 
school with over 600 pupils, and the University. 
After Medellin, the most important city .in the 
department is Sonson (population 28,000, altitude 
8,200 feet), healthily situated in the midst of a good 
cattle, coffee, and mining region, and commercially 
very prosperous. 

Manizales (population 33,251, altitude 6,400 feet), 
the capital of the Department of Caldas, is not so 
important as Medellin, but is advancing even more 
rapidly. It is a very recent town ; the first settle- 
ment was in 1847, and it is only within the last 
thirty years that it has been attaining importance. 
Next to mining, cattle raising is of prime importance 
in the department, Pereira being the chief cattle 
mart. Statistics for the year 1911 give the number 
of head of live-stock in the department as 347,742, 
valued at $5,804,419 : asses 459, goats 2,041, 
horses 41,700, pigs 76,323* sheep 10,551, mules 
12,862, beef -cattle 168,485 head. In some of the 
villages Panama hats ares manufactured on quite an 
extensive scale. Coffee cultivation is being rapidly 
increased, especially in the Quindio, where towns 
like Armenia are springing; up almost with the 
rapidity of those of the Canadian North-west. The 
coffee exports of the department are already more 
than 150,000 bags a year, and the number of trees 
is officially given as over 6,600,000, of which over 
5,000,000 are full-grown. Considerable tobacco is 
also raised. 

To the south is the territory of the former State 
of the Cauca, now split up into the three departments 
El Valle (the Valley), Cauca, and Narino. 



204 COLOMBIA 

Such is the fame of the Cauca Valley that it was 
long known throughout Colombia simply as the 
valley, and that is now its legal name. It is the 
valley par excellence. The name is used to designate 
especially that stretch, about 15 to 25 miles wide and 
150 miles long, where the Cauca River has formed a 
gently sloping plain, at an altitude of 3,000 to 
3,500 feet above sea -level, between the Central and 
the Western Cordilleras. A little north of Cartage 
and a little south of La Bolsa, the two ranges hem 
it in. The Cauca is one of the real garden spots 
of the world. No pen can describe the beauty of 
the broad smiling valley, as seen from favourable 
points on either range, with its broad green pastures, 
yellow fields of sugar-cane, dark woodlands, its 
towns nestling at the foothills, the Cauca River in 
the midst, silvered by the reflected sun, and, looking 
across, the lontas of the rapidly ascending foothills, 
with cameo -cut country houses, topped by the dense 
forests of the upper reaches of the mountains, rising 
to majestic heights. From some places in the 
western range will be seen the snow-clad Huila in 
icy contrast to the blazing sun shining on the 
luxuriant tropic vegetation beneath 1 . 

But the beauty of the valley is more than skin- 
deep. Its cattle pastures are abundant, and furnish 
the principal industry at the present time ; but with 
the opening of the Panama Canal and the completion 
within the coming year of the short railroad from] 
the coast (Buenaventura) and its prolongation north 
and south through the valley, it will probably not 
be many years before land in the Cauca becomes too 
valuable for cattle. Where plantains can attain a* 
length of over 2 feet and a bunch - of bananas 
a weight of 200 pounds ; where cacao, with 
no attention to proper cultivation, is grown that 
commands prices in the foreign markets 15 to 20 
1 See note p. 108. 



*,'.&*-;,' '-. '* , 

s;, I'-, " : '^;, v . "" |N 




VIEW FROM A COUNTRY HOUSE BALCONY, CAUCA VALLKY. 




THE BALCONY (LA MANUEL1TA). 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 205 

per cent, higher than the Ecuadorian*, African, or 
Brazilian product ; where sugar plantations yield for 
three and four generations without replanting or 
fertilizing, and the cane is ground the whole year 
round given cheaper transportation, it takes no 
prophet to drive the cows from the pastures. Although 
there is already a population of 200,000 in the 
valley and its appurtenant hills, and many valuable 
holdings of cattle ranches, cocoa and coffee planta- 
tions and sugar estates, yet it can be safely stated 
that the Cauca is still only in its infancy. To say; 
nothing of its possibilities for delicious tropical fruits, 
and for rubber and cocoafor both of which the 
humid banks of the Cauca River are adapted there 
is enough suitable land in the valley to produce 
at least 200,000 tons of sugar a year. If one can 
venture on a prediction, the one place in the world 
which will benefit the most by the Panama Canal 
is the Cauca Valley. But perhaps the writer is 
unduly prejudiced in its favour. 

Df its present farming, no statistics for the whole 
valley are at hand, but for the north-eastern part, 
which for a short time constituted a separate 
department, Buga, a census of 1908 gave 467,817 
head of live-stock, 2,719,660 cacao-trees, 1,783,500 
coffee-trees, 1,446/470 tobacco plants, 12,969,000 
banana and plantain trees, 11,045,000 ntatas of 
sugar-cane, and 63/600 acres of made pasture 
land. 

The only drawback is the character of the labour ; 
the lower classes are largely, negro. Intelligent? 
Yes ; but, as elsewhere, inclined to laziness. The 
upper class Caucano has many charming qualities 
an openhanded hospitality, high social and 1 intellectual 
attainments but he has not in general heretofore 
shown the sturdy perseverance and practical turn 
of mind of his little-liked neighbour, the Antioqueno, 
who is invading his territory ; he is less frugal and 



206 COLOMBIA 

more easily turned astray from business by the lure 
of literaturewe are all poets in the Cauca and 
by the ambition to rule. The Cauca has produced 
more than her share of Colombia's distinguished 
statesmen and men of letters. In politics the 
Caucano is a leader to be loved but a foe to be 
feared. A politician from another section, em- 
bittered by the tactics of a Caucano adversary, once 
narrated the following legend : *' The Almighty, 
after He had created the rest of the world, pro- 
duced as His chef-d'ceavre the Cauca Valley. Ensued 
the struggle with Lucifer, who, victorious, im- 
posed, as an essential condition to a treaty of peace, 
the cession of the Cauca Valley. Reluctantly, this 
was at last consented to. * And now what are you 
going to do with the Masterpiece of Creation? * 
Lucifer was asked, and responded, ' I will people it 
with people I would not have in Hell.' " 

Contrary to what we find in Antioquia, large 
landed estates are the rule. But they have mostly 
passed from the hands of the old aristocratic families, 
who have either removed to Bogotd or have become 
impoverished. A few, however, still inhabit the 
Cauca at Call (population 25,000), the " Sultana 
of the valley," undoubtedly destined to increase its 
lead as a commercial emporium ; at agricultural 
centres like Palmira, Buga, Tulua, and Santander, 
and especially on the fertile tableland of Popayan, 
to the south. Popayan, one of the famous Spanish 
towns where old aristocratic traditions of culture 
have been preserved, and where is spoken perhaps 
the best Spanish in the New World, is the capital 
of the Department of Cauca. It is an interesting 
town, but commercially moribund. Situated at an 
altitude of 5,900 feet, it is blessed with a perpetually 
cold and healthy spring climate, but troubled by 
violent electrical storms and frequent earthquakes, 
due to being in the heart of a volcanic region. Of 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 207 

the nearby volcanoes, Sotard (4,850 metres) is 
apparently extinct. Some 17 miles east of 
the town is Purac (4,908 metres), with a crest 
of snow beautiful against the flames and multi- 
coloured smoke-clouds it emits. On its flanks, 
strange to say, are rich, broad cattle pastures. Down 
its north-westerly slope flows the curious River 
Vinagre, described by Boussingault, which derives 
its name from the acidity of its waters, surcharged 
with sulphuric acid. 

A few days' journey by mule to the south is the 
capital of the mountainous Department of Narino, the 
city of Pasto (population 16,000, altitude 8,600 feet). 
Situated on this cold elevated plateau, it naturally has 
a healthful climate, and is rapidly increasing in 
wealth and importance in spite of its isolation. The 
Pastuso Indians, who form the bulk of the popula- 
tion (negroes are almost never found in the high- 
lands in Colombia), are a hardworking lot : they 
raise in considerable quantity wheat and barley, and 
are skilled besides in divers home industries, making 
Panama hats in abundance, and pottery, wooden 
ornaments, and utensils tastefully coloured with the 
celebrated Pasto varnish, and weaving cotton and 
woollen cloth. At still higher altitudes are the towns 
of Tuquerres a,nd Ipiales, both at an elevation of 
over 10,000 feet above the sea; the latter is the 
frontier town and customs entry from Ecuador. The 
Indians here are similar to their neighbours of 
northern Ecuador, hardworking and industrious, but 
retrograde to a degree of fanaticism. All speak 
Spanish, and are consequently classed as I civilized," 
though possessing little education. 

On the other or eastern side of the Central Cor- 
dillera lie the Departments of Tolima and of Huila, 
carved from the former State or Department of 
Tolima. Huila, which takes its name from the moun- 
tain, is but sparsely settled, although there is much' 



208 COLOMBIA 

good agricultural and pasture land. The low-lying 
regions about the Magdalena River are hot and 
malarial ; hook-worm and anaemia are prevalent, and 
a peculiar skin disease, found also in other parts of 
Colombia, ugly but not dangerous, called ** carate" 
which leaves whitened and discoloured blotches on 
the face and neck, is common, especially among 
workers in the cacao plantations. The higher climes 
on the flanks of the Cordillera are healthful, but little 
inhabited : as we get farther south, the population 
becomes sparser and sparser ; means of communica- 
tion are very scanty and trade becomes almost nil. 
This southerly region is, however, of intense interest 
to the archaeologist, for near the little village of 
San Agustin some remarkable remains of an ancient 
civilization have been discovered. General Codazzi 
in 1857, while engaged on his Government survey, 
first ran across them, but although they have since 
been visited by a few scientists, little light has been 
thrown on the origin of the gigantic statues, massive 
stone coffins, artificial mounds, and remarkable 
chambers with sculptured stone door jambs that 
have been found. The remains were recently visited 
by Dr. Stoepel, on behalf of the Berlin Museum, 
who presented his findings to the 1912 Congress of 
Americanists. Further investigations, there is every 
reason to believe, will prove fruitful and will reveal 
many more interesting vestiges of the cultured race 
that must have dwelt here. 

An interesting description of, the region of the 
head-waters of the Magdalena is given in an un- 
published report by Mr. A. A. Allen to the American 
Museum of Natural History : 

" We left the valley (Las Papas) April 3, 1912, on the trail for 
San Agustin. The trail leads practically NE. upward, steeply in 
places, and very rocky until the top of the Paramo is reached at 
12,300 feet. It was extremely rainy and foggy, so that one could not 
see far, but it was very noticeable that there was no sharp line to tree 



--'<>' - F* ; 

T7 Wort. P AMMu.t^h Ih 1 - 



77* West of Greenwich 



CENTRAL WESTERN COLOMBIA. 
Drawn, under the suoervision of Frank M. Chapman, chiefly from maps of Robert Blake White. Reproduced 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 209 

growth as at San Isabel. One looks down into narrow valleys 
covered with Paramo vegetation, while all about the mountains are 
heavily forested, in places probably up to 13,000 feet. But even on 
these wooded slopes the forest is not continuous, but here and there 
occur patches of the Paramo vegetation scattered about rather 
miscellaneously their presence perhaps determined by the nature 
of the soil rather than the altitude alone. Most of these * Paramo 
valleys ' appear to me to be the basins of ancient lakes which had 
in some way broken through their barriers and left behind them 
only those broad flat-bottomed beds of loose muck which have 
gradually been covered over with the growth of coarse sedges 
except where the small stream still meanders. Just below timber- 
line the forest is extremely dense, with a great deal of moss, 
caladiums, etc., and with a tree of the banyan type quite prevalent. 
The fringe of stunted trees is quite restricted. The trail continues 
along a ridge for a short distance, judged by the low growth, and then 
begins a steady descent. At ix,ooo feet a fair-sized mountain stream 
is crossed, and then the trail follows approximately down its valley 
extremely rocky and stony in parts and ever very wet with a stream 
flowing down it. When a level stretch is reached, it is generally 
very marshy, making progress difficult In places great cliffs rise 
perpendicularly for hundreds of feet at either side of the valley, and 
waterfalls tumble interrupted from the top to the river below at 
least a thousand feet. These falls could be seen, however, only at 
intervals when the fog parted for an instant. At other times one 
could not see 50 feet in advance. Thus the trail descends to 
Santa Maria, at an altitude of 9,000 feet. Santa Marta is a rather 
large but unfinished building, used as a general posada by all the 
Indian packers. It is situated in a beautiful amphitheatre of perhaps 
a half mile in diameter, whose perpendicular walls are pierced only 
by the ingress and egress of the stream (and trail). The river even 
here is a swollen torrent, and called the Magdalena by the Indians. 
All about is the luxuriant moss forest. It would make an ideal 
collecting spot, and I hope Miller got back to it. 

"A long day's trip over a trail which is comparable only with that 
between Cartago and Novita brings one to Los Monos, which is 
nothing but a small lean-to situated at the edge of a small clearing. 
Three hours farther, ascending and descending brings one to Pena 
Seco, a niche in a perpendicular cliff undercut so as to be perfectly 
dry, and no shelter of any kind has been erected or is necessary. 
A few hundred feet below, almost straight down, rushes the 
Magdalena, here a mad torrent The altitude is but 7,000 feet, but 
the moss forest extends uninterrupted down its course and covers 
its sides wonderful country I I was sorry not to be in a better 
position to appreciate it." 

15 



210 COLOMBIA 

The Department of Huila, due largely to its isola- 
tion and to the strong preponderance of Indian blood 
in its population, is as backward perhaps as any in 
the whole Republic. There is not a single bank 
and not a single cart-road in the department, and 
but few mule-roads connect it with other depart- 
ments ; only nine periodicals of very limited circula- 
tion are published ; there is no electric plant, and we 
might go on indefinitely enumerating what there is 
not. No particular improvement can be looked for 
until a railroad is built up the valley of the Magda- 
lena something for the distant future. As a com- 
mercial highway, the river itself, the most important 
artery of communication, although only navigable 
for steamers at certain seasons, is not susceptible 
of much improvemeut. The principal exports are 
coffee, rubber, brought from ^the Amazon regions, 
and Panama hats, called " Suazas," from the former 
name of the town where they are chiefly made ; the 
production of cacao, formerly important, has greatly 
diminished, owing to a blight that has attacked the 
trees and against which no protective measures have 
been taken. The capital, Neiva (population 8,300, 
altitude 1,500 feet), as the head of navigation and 
the principal town on the road from Popayan to 
Bogotd, has considerable importance as a commercial 
centre. 

The Department of Tolima to the north is of 
greater present-day importance ; considerable mining 
development has taken place, especially at Mariquita, 
Frias, Fresno, and Anaime ; at Chaparral, a little 
asphalt has been taken out. The Dorada Railway, 
the Magdalena River, and the important mule-road 
across the Quindio, are in its territory and a4d tq 
its commerce ; the upper slopes of thfe Central Cor- 
dillera are cool, healthful, and in many places fertile, 
and are being rapidly populated by Antioquenos, who 
dedicate themselves chiefly to coffee and cattle, and 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 211 

some of whose towns, like Marulanda and Man- 
zanares, are growing rapidly. Ibagu6, the capital 
(altitude 1,299 metres, population 24,566), is a 
pleasantly situated and well-laid-out town of consider- 
able commercial importance. The Magdalena llanos 
are given over to cattle, some of the ranches sus- 
taining thousands of head, and a little cacao, of good 
quality, and sugar-cane are also raised. The tobacco 
of Ambalema at one time had a reputation almost 
superior to that of Havana, and the town still shows 
evidence of the former wealth which it possessed 
in the good old tobacco days ; a fairly good 
quality of cigars is still produced,, chiefly for 
Colombian consumption, though some are sent to 
Germany. There are three large tobacco and cigar 
factories, employing chiefly ill-paid women workers ; 
the largest is owned by an English family. Statistics 
for 1908 gave the number of head of live-stock in the 
department as 423,627, valued at $5,183,975. 

This region (Honda, Ambalema, Ibagu6) is in the 
heart of Colombia and inevitably bound to acquire 
a considerable increment of wealth with the railroad 
extensions that are now being carried forward. The 
Tolimense of the hills is hardy and of good physique, 
makes an excellent vaquero or cowboy, but has not 
the aptitude for business and is not as enterprising 
as the Antioqueno, who is becoming the dominant 
factor in the commercial population. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE ANDEAN REGIONS (continued) 

The Departments of the Eastern Cordillera 'Boyacd, 
Cundinamarca, Santander, and Norte. de 
Santander. 

THE Departments of Boyacd, Santander, Norte de 
Santander, and Cundinamarca occupy the extensive 
tablelands of the Eastern Cordillena, its cross ranges 
sand flanks down to the Magdalena River on the 
west and to the llanos and selvas of the Orinoco 
and Amazon watershed on the east. Of these four 
departments, the two Santanders, extremely moun- 
tainous, are but sparsely inhabited ; Boyadl is, com- 
paratively speaking, densely populated, largely by 
those of Indian blood, and Cundinamarca, the seat 
of the capital of the Republic, is at once the miost 
thickly settled and the best developed 1 region of 
Colombia. 

The capital and chief city of the Department of 
North Santander is San Jos6 de Cticuta. Many 
afflictions have visited the town : it has suffered 
severely from earthquakes one in 1875 almost 
totally destroyed it ; siti^ated on a plain at an alti- 
tude of only 1,000 feet, and shut in by surround- 
ing hills, it is hot and unhealthy, and frequent 
epidemics of yellow fever have raged. Nevertheless, 
it has survived and progressed : the surrounding 
country, rich in coffee plantations, makes the city 

212 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 213 

an important commercial centre, although its popula- 
tion is only 1 6,000. z 

Built up after the earthquake with wide, tree- 
fringed streets, in pleasing contrast to the usual 
narrow streets of the small Spanish American towns, 
electric light, a steam tramway, telephone service, 
a theatre, covered markets and slaughter-house, 
several notable charitable institutions, including an 
orphan asylum and poor-house founded by the widow 
of a Danish resident, complete the modern equipment 
of Cticuta. 

The coffee and other exports find their way out 
by railroad to the "River Zulia, thence by steamers 
to Maracaibo, a Venezuelan port, where German 
houses are firmly established, which control the 
inland navigation companies. From the course of 
trade, it is natural that the town, together with the 
vicinity it supplies, finds itself somewhat isolated 
from the rest of Colombia, with which it has practic- 
ally no comtoercial intercourse. A project is now 
on foot, the reader will recall, to connect Cticuta by 
rail with the lower Mag l dalena River. This would un- 
doubtedly be al gteat step in advance. In fact, 
it is alm'ost a political necessity, as thereby the 
trade of this north-eastern region of Colombia would 
be liberated from paying tribute to Venezuela, which 
has frequently interposed excessive and unjust restric- 

* The imports in 1909 were 2,216,368 kilos, valued at $475.555 
$140,875 from Germany (textiles, $84,444), $141,118 from the United 
States (textiles, $70,221, foodstuffs, $24,767) ; $7i,*45 from Great 
Britain (textiles, $57>*75), $95,45* frni Venezuela (salt, $52,864). 
Exports in 1909 were : coffee, 9,271,381 kilos, valued at $1,189,915 ; 
hides, 114,243, valued $21,458, rubber, $80. In 1910, imports 
$518,272 ; exports, $861,918, In 1911, exports (Puerto Villamizar) : 
coffee, 7,960,255 kilos ; hides, 90,715 kilos. Imports : salt, 1,318,155 
kilos ; other merchandise, 2,270,525 kilos. All figures are in silver 
money. Nearly half of the foreign trade of the city is in the hands 
of four German firms. There are no English or American firms 
established here. 



214 COLOMBIA 

tions : the navigation of the Zulia River and the 
Orinoco, which further to the south serves as the 
boundary between Venezuela and Colombia, has often 
been the subject of international controversy between 
the two nations, which should be, but are not, on the 
friendliest terms. 

There are only two other towns of any size in 
North Santander Ocafia (population 17,000, alti- 
tude 3,600 feet) and Pamplona (population 14,790, 
altitude 7,100 feet), the latter founded in 1549 by 
the conquistador Pedro de Ursua, one of the famous 
seekers after El Dorado. Both towns are in the 
centre of good coffee regions : cacao and hats are 
also exported. Pamplona's trade flows through 
C6cuta, that of Ocafia by the Magdalena. A move- 
ment is now under way to build a wagon-road from 
Ocafia to its river, port, utilizing a section already 
constructed, and run automobiles and Renard traction 
engines on it. 

Bucaramanga (altitude 2,850 feet, population 
20,000), the capital of the Department of Santander, 
is a few days' ride from Ocafia and Cticuta, but it 
has its own independent outlets, at present vi& the 
Lebrija and Sogamoso Rivers, tributaries of the 
Magdalena, to be replaced in the future, it is hoped, 
by the Puerto Wilches railroad now under construc- 
tion. It, too, is a very important coffee centre, and 
the town is fairly progressive, its streets and little 
parks well kept, and lighted by electricity. 

The character of the Santanderefios is somewhat 
similar to that of the Antioquenos : they are in- 
defatigable workers and economical, and readily 
colonize new regions, though not augmenting very 
rapidly in number. Their individualism is shown 
by the preponderance of small landholdings, which 
accounts for the importance of the coffee industry. 
Physically they are of fine appearance ; there has 
been little infusion of negro blood, except near the 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 215 

Magdalena River ; and the upper classes have pre- 
served, at least it has so appeared to me, more of 
Castilian fairness of skin and length of limb than 
other Colombians. 

The low-lying parts of the Department of San- 
tander on the western slope of the Cordillera down 
to the Magdalena are but little inhabited. For tKe 
most part they are covered by dense tropical forest, 
rich in valuable products, but little exploited, ex- 
ception made of the ivory-fiuts of the Sogamoso. 
Certain parts of the Carare and Open, small 
tributaries of the Magdalena, are still inhabited by 
savage Indians, whose hostility to, or rather fear 
of, the whites has hindered even proper exploration 
of this region in the very heart of Colombia, though 
the tribes are numerically unimportant. A Jesuit 
missionary who recently undertook a voyage among 
them states that there are only a few score families. 
The land they occupy is not particularly fertile nor 
healthful, so no effort has been made to deprive them 
of it, or otherwise to civilize them. 

The most densely populated parts of the Depart- 
ment of Boyacd are the elevated plateaux which,, 
while possessing no large cities, are dotted with 
numbers of small towns devoted to the agriculture of 
the tierra fria. Wheat, barley, maize, alfalfa, and 
potatoes are the principal crops, raised in important 
quantities for local consumption and for export to 
the neighbouring Department of Cundinamarca. TKe 
capital is the historic town of Tunja (population 
8,407, altitude 8,600), the northern capital of the 
Chibcha rulers ; during the Spanish days it was 
the seat of important families and many of the old 
buildings are still in existence. After a period of 
decadence, the town is once again advancing it even 
has electric light. Near it is Chiquinquiri (popula- 
tion 13,000), famous for its church and a miraculous 
-Virgin, which attracts thousands of pilgrims. The 



216 COLOMBIA 

Indians, who> form the bulk of the population of 
Boyacd, are sunk in a fanatical ignorance, from 
which little effort is made to" arouse them, though 
they are as submissive to the priests to-day as they 
were to their Spanish conquerors. Educational facili- 
ties are lacking there are fewer schools in pro- 
portion to the population than anywhere else in the 
Republic. Only 3 per cent, of the population attends 
school. 

The real estate of the former Department of 
Boyacd (one-half of the present Department) was 
valued on the tax rolls (1908) at $12,548,611 : its 
mineral wealth in exploitation, besides the Muzo 
emerald mines, is copper and marble on a: very small 
scale. The latest statistics at hand (1907) give the 
number of head of live-stock as 331,056, valued at 
$3*328,866 for the former subdivision of Boyacd, 
and 531,494 head for the former subdivision of 
Santa Rosa. Sheep form an important item! ; gpats, 
too, rarely found in other parts of Colombia, are 
numerous. The natives are expert in weaving wool, 
which finds its way largely into ruanas (coarse 
mantles, extensively worn) it must not be forgotten 
that the climate of the high tableland is cold. The 
chief market for the productions of the department 
is Bogotd, with which city it is now in communi- 
cation by a good road, the best in th.e whole 
Republic. 

The Department iof Cundinamarca can be con- 
veniently divided into two parts the one, the plateau 
and the mountains enclosing; it, the other, the slopes 
of the Cordillera down to the Magdalena on one side 
and the Orinoco watershed llanos on the other. It 
embraces, therefore, within close range, every variety 
of climate and soil to be found in Colombia the 
tierra ardiente, or hot zone, of the Magdalena Valley, 
the tierra caliente, or warm zone, reaching to an 
altitude of 3,500 feet or thereabouts, the tierra 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 217 

templdda, or temperate zone, embracing the alti- 
tudes from 3,500 to 8,000 feet, and the tierra fria, 
or cool zone, at the higher altitudes. The cold, 
bleak regions in Colombia, where vegetation becomes 
scanty, dying! off with the frailejon, a hardy shrub, 
before the region of perpetual snow is reached, are 
known as the paramos. 

The best developed parts of the hot and temperate 
zones of Cundinainarca are along 1 the Magdalena 
Valley and the routes of the Girardot Railway, the 
roatf to Cambao and' the Honda trail. In the 
wartner zone there are 'good sugar plantations : in 
the temperate zone is grown the coffee so favourably 
known in the markets of the world under the name 
of Bogotd : it iattains its perfection at an altitude 
of about 5,000 feet, and nowhere else in Colombia 
has such careful attention been given to its cultiva- 
tion. The Sabana itself, by which name the plateau 
of Bogoti is known, is all taken up with farms and 
towns there is scarcely a foot of undeveloped land. 
The climiate is admirably adapted to the European- 
blooded animals, and the gentleman-farmer of Bogotd 
takes great pride in his stock. The finest cattla in 
Colombia, a great many of imported Durham 1 and 
Hereford stock, nd excellent horses of English and 
NorrrXan descent are bred here. This is the only 
section in Colombia, too, where dairying! on any 
extensive scale is carried' on, and 1 where the gfdneral 
level of agriculture has risen above the primitive. 
The lands not devoted to pasture are utilized chiefly 
for wheat, barley, and potatoes. 

The live-stock statistics of Cundinataartia for 1 909 
are given as follows: beef -cattle, 3 04, 52*6 head; 
horses, 73/067*; mules and donkeys, 58,8 5 i>; sheep, 
I34,l'8 t 9*; goats, 33,848.; pigs, 154,920. The chief 
agricultural products for the same year were : coffee, 
68,900 carets; 1 sugar and 1 jcnolasses, 285,079; 

* A cargo, is a mule load, that is, about 250 pounds. 



218 COLOMBIA 

wheat, 176,3016; potatoes, 611,847; and barley, 
40,104 car gas. To these figures must be added 
those of the former Department of Zipaquira, now 
embraced in Cundinamarca, which for 1908 showed 
235,342 head of all classes of live-stock, valued at 
$2,653,468, and 3,394,756 coffee, 2,257,000 banana, 
and 246,200 cacao trees, etc., and 22,260 hectares 
planted in maize, 15,665 in wheat, 2,966 in arra- 
cacha, 7,919 in potatoes, and several thousand 
hectares in minor crops. To all this agricultural 
wealth must be added the fact, as we noted in the 
chapter on mining, that the mountains enclosing the 
Sabana are rich in salt and coal, besides iron and 
other minerals on a small scale not exploited. 

The life of the Sabana, of course, revolves around 
Bogotd, the national capital, where the aristocracies 
of blood, of wealth, and of intellect are centred. 
Here is a synthesis of Colombia l : here we find in 
the strongest relief the contrasts that so tragically 
mark the country. On one street, lined with sub- 
stantial residences, the elegant Bogotano, wealthy 
and cultured, educated in foreign universities, speak- 
ing three of four languages, attired in silk hat and 
frock-coat of the latest European cut, passes by 
in his carriage and pair or automobile ; around the 
corner is a group of miserable, besotted Indians o-r 
mestizos, ragged, shoeless, half-starved, none of 
whom can read or write, huddled together in a reek- 
ing disease-laden hovel of a dirty chicheria, for sullen 
companionship over their interminable glasses of the 

* Dr. M. D. Eder, who has read the proofs of this book, writes me : 
" I cannot agree that it is a synthesis of Colombia. It is curiously 
not typical of Colombia. I believe it is only in Colombia and 
Spanish-speaking countries (and Southern Italy) that there is any 
real democratic feeling ; that rich and poor can exist side by side 
meeting on equal terms. The form of government is democratic, 
the actual government despotic, but the people the freest I have 
ever known." 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 219 

vile fermented chicha. True, somewhat analogous 
pictures might be found if we could suddenly juxta- 
pose Whitechapel and the West End, Fifth Avenue 
and the New York slums, but our Anglo-Saxon spec- 
tacles, conveniently opaque at home, are splendidly 
translucent near the Equator, and give us the right 
to criticize and to declaim that a century of 
Republicanism in Colombia, with its dictatorships, 
revolutions, and Church oppressions, has proved a 
failure. 

Of course, not all the lower classes spend their 
days in the chicherias. Thousands are far happier 
toiling in the factories than are their Anglo-Saxon 
fellows. Bogotd and its suburbs possess a goodly 
number of factories : matches, plate glass, clay- 
tubing, beer, flour, candles made here have dis- 
lodged their foreign competitors. Many other 
articles are manufactured which compete favourably 
in price and quality with imported goods glassware, 
cotton goods, silks, linens, cigarettes, biscuits, mineral 
waters, shoes though they have not altogether re- 
placed the foreign articles, as the quantity manu- 
factured is insufficient. The largest industrial 
establishment in the city is the Bavaria brewery, 
employing 300 labourers, an up-to-date concern, 
founded in 1890, and run naturally by a German. 
Ten years ago its brew -master started a smaller 
rival brewery, which also turns out very good beer. 
The owner of the Bavaria is also the head of the 
glass-works, owned by a German company, and 
employing over 200 labourers. The other industrial 
establishments of Bogotd are nearly all in the Hands 
of Colombians ; there are several flourmills the 
largest cpst over $150,000 and a modern chocolate 
factory, " Chaves y Equitativa," representing 
probably a larger investment. The ordinary arts 
and crafts are well represented, supplying the town 
with everything for the complete comfqrt of life as 



220 COLOMBIA 

known in European capitals, though!, of course, for 
ultra luxuries resort is had abroad. The number 
of artisans (their own " bosses ") may be of interest : 
architects and builders, 42 ; carpenters, 350 ; cabi- 
net makers, 80 ; blacksmiths, 60 ; tinsmiths, 70 ; 
tailors, 200; saddlers and harness makers, no; 
shoemakers, 350 ; barbers, 80 ; stonecutters, 50 ; 
florists, 80; mechanics, 130; dyers, 10. There 
are 40 dentists, and a like number of pharmacists. 
According to the last census, the population .of Bogotd 
is 123,000. 

The railroads and tramcar lines, the National 
Government and the municipality are lso large 
employers of labour and of clerical forces. Office 
seekers for positions great and small gather in force 
every other man in Bogotd deems himself entitled 
to a living furnished by the Government. The 
routine business of the Government is run with con- 
siderable red tape, delay, and consequent waste, and 
civil servants are not worked to the point of efficiency 
that is obtained by the banks and commercial 
houses. Even in these there is an absence of any 
rush and frenzy business moves along tranquilly, 
but ip. substantial volume. The favourite places for 
discussing commercial and financial transactions are 
certain street-corners, where Bogota's leading busi- 
ness men gather daily to sun themselves and make 
their fortunes. The banks represent a considerable 
aggregation of wealth, and) two national general 
insurance companies (with a capital respectively of 
$2,000,000 and $300,000 gold) are also important 
financial institutions. A few foreign bankers, in- 
surance companies, and manufacturers are repre- 
sented by agents, and the stores and markets are well 
stocked with foreign and domestic goods and pro- 
ducts. In short, nothing is wanting for all the 
material comforts of life. 

The climate is on the whole agreeable, though cool 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 221 

to the point even of chilliness in early mornings' and 
evenings and on darfip days, all too frequent, and the 
houses seem' unsuited to the climate, built as are 
those in warmer climes with large, open patios and 
with no artificial heating. The rarity of the air (the 
altitude is over 8,000 feet) is somewhat trying. One 
is conscious of the act of breathing ; the new-comer 
finds he cannot walk briskly for many minutes with- 
out stopping to take breath, and one is niomeintarily 
quite exhausted, for instance, after a set of teninis. 1 
Save for people with weak hearts, for whom the? 
altitude might be risky, Bogotd would be a 
thoroughly healthful place were only its water supply 
and sewage better attended to. The present water 
supply is not only insufficiemt in quantity for the 
city's needs, but is not kept free from! contamination. 
The sew&ge drains into the little streams traversing 
the city, which are not only left uncovered, but where 
laundresses are allowed to come and wash theii; 
linen. It is not surprising, therefore, that epMfetnics 
of typhoid fever break out from- time to time. It 
must not be inferred that the Bogotanos are not 
fully alive to the needs of the situation ; but while* 
waiting to negotiate a large loan to enable the city 
to carry forward improvements in these respects and 
others, minor protective measures that could be 
undertaken with present resources have been 
neglected. Other improvements that are needed 
are better paving! (the cobblestones of the streets 
make driving, except on one or two thoroughfares, 
a luxury one is right ready to forgo) and an ex- 
tension of the electric tramlways. These are now 
owned by the municipality, which bought out the 
American company for $800,000, cash down, after a 
tense situation had been created by a boycott, fanned 

x There are good tennis courts, specially at the grounds of the Polo 
Club, one of the three or four attractive clubs which help make life 
pleasant in this inland capital. 



222 COLOMBIA 

by anti-American feeling, which sprang out of an 
unfortunate quarrel between the American manager 
and the police. 

To offset bad water, the food supply is excellent, 
and of wonderful variety. That is one of the beauties 
of the climate of the Sabana. One gets all northern 
fruits and flowers, blooming the year round, and 
vegetables, as well as quite a few of the tropical 
ones. It is an interesting sight to see tropical palms 
growing side by side with handsome northern trees, 
like oaks and firs. Some of the Sabana roads are 
lined with blackberries, and one gets delicious little 
wild strawberries ; apples, pears, and peaches are 
grown, though usually of a poor quality, not properly, 
cultivated. Even oranges can grow on the Sabana, 
and from the nearby hot country they send up all 
manner of tropical fruits and vegetables. Then there 
is no dearth of good cooks : the epicure can enjoy, 
private dinners and public banquets equal to any 
in the world. TJie one lady who reads this book will 
be interested to know that tlie servant problem is 
reduced to a minimum in Bogotd ; good domestics 
are plentiful and cheapfive to ten dollars a month 
is high pay. In the houses of the well-to-do the ser- 
vants are well treated and lead happy lives ; they 
have ample quarters of their own, centring around 
their own patio; and enough of the old patriarchal 
regime survives -to make them really a part of the 
family. 

The Bogotahos are exceptionally hospitable to 
foreigners, for whom life is indeed made agreeable. 
And none need thirst for even intellectual com- 
panionship,. The Bogotanos are proud, and rightly 
so, of their literary and artistic attainments. Con- 
certs are frequently given, and occasionally art 
exhibitions are held. The standard of operatic per- 
formances is high, and! the opera andl the drama is 
well housed in the Teatro Colon, a fine building 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 223 

witn, attractive foyers, promenades, and reception- 
rooms. Nowhere else in the world perhaps is there 
a keener relish for literary wit and a keener zest for 
an easy-going literary life than in Bogotd. The 
National Library contains 60,000 volumes, including 
some priceless incunabula and other rare works. 
There are a number of book-stores ; two especially, 
the Libreria Colombiana and the Libreria Americana, 
keep up-to-date stocks of foreign books, and are 
not surpassed in cities five times the size of Bogotd. 
A brief view of the intellectual movement in Colombia 
I shall attempt to give in a later chapter. Suffice it 
to say for the present that Bogotd is naturally the 
heart of it, and that it has well deserved, and still 
deserves, the name that has been given to it of 
the Athens of South America. 

The masses? An interesting account of the type 
of Indians that inhabit the plateaux of the Eastern 
Cordillera was given half a century ago by a 
Colombian writer, Jos6 Maria Samper. Making 
allowance for the defects of broad generalization 
which this prolific writer was wont to indulge in, it 
holds as good to-day as when it was written. Says 
Samper : 

"The character of the mass of the Andine population (purely 
indigenous) is notable for patient labour, religious sentiment carried 
to the point of idolatry and the grossest superstition, lack of every 
truly artistic sentiment, love of a sedentary life, of immobility and 
routine, a humility full of timidity, dissimulated malice which 
somewhat tempers the relative stupidity of the muisca, a certain 
impassibility which makes him indifferent to all strong emotions, a 
great curiosity respecting purely material or exterior things, spirit of 
hospitality but slightly developed, and a patent incapacity to obey the 
impulse of Progress. . . . The Indian of the plateaux is wanting in 
enthusiasm and passion, but loves marriage and is faithful to his 
hearth and wife. Moreover, he loves his little bit of soil to servility 
and likes chicha to an excess which frequently leads him to 
drunkenness. He adores processions and mummeries and displays 
much credulity for the marvellous. Weak in hand-to-hand struggle 
because his strength resides only in his neck, back, and legs, and 



224 COLOMBIA 

without any dash in combat, he displays nevertheless an astounding 
endurance in carrying enormous weights and exhibits the stupid 
valour of passive obedience. He can neither run nor ride a horse, 
but walks days without feeling any fatigue, provided he is given 
chicha, and he travels horrible roads and paths laden with some 
huge case of stupendous volume and weighing 150 kilograms or more, 
supporting himself on a heavy cane, bowed double with the load but 
never exhausted nor weakening. As poor a hunter as he is a fighter, 
because he lacks initiative, daring, and agility, he nevertheless makes 
an excellent soldier of the line. True, he rarely advances, but he 
never retreats, and ever knows how to die at his post, to which he 
seems nailed alike in victory as in defeat. 

" For the Indian of the Andine countryside, the ties of society are 
perilous, the schoolmaster is an incomprehensible myth, the alcalde 
a useless personage, the parish priest a demi-god, and the tax- 
collector little less than the pest or thunderbolt. His life is concen- 
trated upon his primitive hut and half acre of farm, and his great 
festival day that upon which he goes to the market-place, principally 
Bogotd, to sell his fruit and vegetables, his chickens and eggs, carried 
in reed cages laden on his back and strapped to his forehead. The 
muisca Indian is neither quarrelsome nor communicative, neither 
revengeful nor obsequious. Selfish, timid, and distrustful, he avoids 
written agreements, hides himself on recruiting days and elections 
and when a census is being taken, and does everything possible to 
evade taxes. In short, the descendant of the muiscas is a passive 
being, a kind of deaf-mute in the presence of European civilization 
incapable of either good or bad, thanks to the sad state in which he 
has lived since the Conquest and to the inelasticity of his intellectual 
and moral faculties. 

*' While the men are generally cold, suspicious, and hypocritical, 
the women on the contrary often show themselves frank, kind, 
unselfish, accessible to kind treatment, grateful, and good mothers. 
The women have no less endurance relatively than the men for long 
journeys and carrying heavy weights. Both sexes are fond of money 
for money's sake : they haggle impertinently and look with suspicion 
at all coin tendered them. It is but justice to recognize that all then- 
defects are rather the consequence of vicious prior institutions and 
of the exploitation more or less crafty or violent to which these poor 
natives have been subjected by the priests, the large landed 
proprietors, and influential men of their small localities. These defects 
are also due to the absolute lack of elementary education in many 
rural districts, . . ." 

Besides to Indian villages, there are a number of 
interesting excursions that the traveller can make 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 225 

from Bogotd. Taking any of the railroads, one 
reaches various points of the Sabana, which give 
one an excellent idea of its remarkable fertility and 
farming development and of the comfort of the 
nearby country residences, summer resorts of the 
Bogotanos. Bogotd lies at the very foot of two 
mountains, Guadalupe and Monserrate, each crowded 
with an interesting old chapel ; thje easy ascent of 
either of these is well repaid : the view from the 
summit is noteworthy for its extent, variety, and 
beauty. But the one excursion that no visitor can 
afford to miss is to the famous falls of Tequendama, 
which are situated some three miles or so from one 
of the little stations on the railway del Sur* The 
ride from the station by the shores of the Bogotd 
River is enjoyable, passing rapids and the electric 
plant which supplies light and power to the city ; 
the enterprise, a model one in point of equipment 
and operation, has been an exceedingly profitable 
venture for the native owners. The falls thiemselves 
are remarkable for their height, some 450 feet, 
three times that of Niagara, rather than for the 
volume of water, but it is the beauty of the whole 
scene that beggars description. The river, suddenly 
leaving the plateau, h|as eroded an enormous oval 
basin : it is as if a colossal hand had scooped <i 
tremendous basin out of the mountain a huge round 
hole with sheer precipitous cliffs down to a dizzy 
depth, and steep, woode'd 1 mountains rising all around. 
At one end the river crashes down, arching over the 
rocky walls, to be dispersed in clouds of spray ; 
at the other end the tremendous basin or crater 
narrows its walls into a canon, through 1 which flows 
the now seemingly tiny river ; on a level with our 
eyes and above our heads, trees of northern growth; 
far below us the fluffy-topped, interwoven tropical 
vegetation already begins to show itself. 

Longer excursions, more arduous but well worth 

16 



226 COLOMBIA 

while, are to the sacred lakes of Tunja and Guatavita, 
intimately connected with the religious rites of the 
Chibchas., and into which they are reputed to have 
cast much of their treasure to prevent it from fall- 
ing into the hands of the goldthirsty Spaniards. As 
a consequence of these traditions, thousands and 
thousands of dollars have been spent by fortune- 
hunters, both in the old days and in recent times, 
in attempts to recover this sunken wealth ; com- 
panies have even been formed and stock sold abroad 
to dredge and drain these lakes ; interesting 
archaeological relics have been found, and a little 
treasure has been brought up, but so far in in- 
sufficient quantity to repay expenses. Guatavita is 
specially interesting as being the traditional home 
of El Dorado, the gilded man. An old Spanish 
chronicler, Juan Rodriguez Fresle, writing just a 
century after the Conquest, gives the following 
version of the Indian legend! : 

" It was the custom among this tribe that the prince who was to 
succeed his uncle in the kingdom (such was the law of descent) had 
to fast six years enclosed in a cave dedicated for that purpose, 
during all which time he could not converse with women, nor eat 
meat nor salt nor peppers nor other forbidden things. Likewise it 
was forbidden him to see the sun : only at night was he allowed to 
go forth and see the moon and the stars, and he had to retire before 
the sun shone on him. The long fast completed, he was enthroned 
king and cacique, and the first day of his reign he had to journey 
forth to the great lake Guatavita and there make offerings and 
sacrifices to the Demon, whom they regarded as God and Ruler. 
The ceremony consisted in this : on this lake they built a great raft, 
decorating it and adorning it as beautifully as possible : on it 
they placed four brasiers wherein they burnt much moque, which is 
the incense of these parts, and turpentine and many other diverse 
perfumes. At this epoch, the lake was round and very deep, so that 
a big ship could navigate it. A multitude of Indians, men and 
women, decorated with gay plumage, bright dresses, and each with 
a crown of gold, encircled the lake. Bonfires were prepared all 
around, and just as soon as they began to burn incense on the raft, 
the bonfires were lighted on land, so that the smoke made the sun 
and daylight invisible. Thereupon, the prince was stripped naked 



THE ANDEAN REGIONS 227 

and anointed with a sticky clay, and powdered with gold dust until 
he was completely covered with the precious metal. He was then 
placed on the raft, whereon he stood erect, and at his feet was placed 
a mountain of gold and emeralds for him to offer as a sacrifice to the 
gods. With him went the four most important caciques, his subjects, 
likewise muchly adorned with plumage, and crowns, bracelets, 
anklets, and earrings of gold, and each one took an offering. As the 
raft left the shore, thousands of trumpets, flutes, and other instruments 
began to play, and a great shout arose, thundering throughout the 
mountain and the valleys, and the noise continued until the raft 
reached the middle of the lake, whence the waving of a banner gave 
the signal for silence. Then the golden Indian (el indio dorado) 
made his sacrifice, throwing all the gold at his feet into the lake, 
and the other caciques who accompanied him did likewise. The 
sacrifice completed, they lowered the banner, which all this time had 
been held aloft, and as the raft returned to land, the shouts and 
music recommenced, and they danced and gesticulated in their 
manner. Such was the ceremony with which they crowned their 
king, recognizing him as Lord and Ruler. 

" From this ceremony is derived the famous name of El Dorado, 
which has cost so many lives and so much property. . . ." 

Treasures a thousandfold greater than those of 
a gilded Indian ruler still await the modern business 
conquistador in Colombia* They will be no gambler's 
find, but the conquests of modern science, applied 
with energy, initiative, and patient perseverance, over 
the country's rich natural resources a 



CHAPTER XV 
THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 

THE low plain that extends from the Eastern 
Cordillera of the Andes to the distant frontiers, the 
vast hinterland that stretches roadless and lonely 
to the banks of the Orinoco on the east and of 
the Amazon or its tributaries on the south, is 
admittedly of little present-day commercial import- 
ance ; but so lavishly have its praises been sounded, 
in such glowing 1 colours have its possibilities been 
painted, and with such assurance has it been fore- 
cast as the seat of a coming empire, that no volume 
on Colombia would be complete without at least 
a summary of the scanty knowledge at hand con- 
cerning these domains and an examination of the 
possible bases for such extravagant claims. 

Land there is, land stretching out interminably, 
vast areas of it I There is territory enough and to 
spare for a population, under favourable conditions, 
of millions upon millions. Hundreds of thousands 
of square miles ; an area, even waiving the nation's 
rights to disputed territory, equal to that of France 
and Germany put together, more than one-half, 
nearly two-thirds, of Colombia's entire territory, is 
comprised in this outlying region. 

A natural division is afforded into two zones, the 
northern, that of the llanos, open grassy plains, 
sparsely wooded, watered by the tributaries of the 
Orinoco ; the southern, that of the selvas pr forests 
of the great Amazon watershed. Roughly speaking, 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 229 

the boundary line between the two is formed by 
the Guaviare River, the southernmost east and west 
tributary of the Orinoco. 

I have said that knowledge of these regions is 
scanty. Above all, beware of maps. Only a few 
of the more important watercourses have been in 
any way surveyed, and in the maze of guesswork 
to be found in the maps of Colombia published 
in books on that country (including this one) and 
in general atlases, there are serious errors, obvious 
upon the most cursory reading of the geographical 
literature of the region. 

The northernmost subdivision, Casanare, lying be- 
tween one tributary of the Orinoco, the Arauca, on 
the north, and another, the Meta, on the south, and 
between the frontier of Venezuela on the east and 
the Andes on the west, is fairly well known, although 
not accurately mapped, and to it it is that reference 
is generally made when the llanos (continuation of 
the Venezuela plains of like character first scienti- 
fically described by Humboldt) are spoken of, 
although the term also covers the lesser known plains 
of San Martin, to the south of the Meta. Of these, 
only the parts in proximity to the more settled slopes 
of the Andes, lying just east and- south of Bogotd, 
are known. 

Casanare is under the rule of a special governor 
or commissioner, called the comisario, in whom 
legislative as well as executive powers are vested, 
subject to the direct supervision of the national 
Executive. Such supervision can only be tardily 
exercised. The mail from Bogot now goes to the 
headquarters of the comisaria at Arauca, via Orocu6, 
and takes forty days or more : the nearest tele- 
graph stations are Ctlcuta, practicably inaccessible, 
and Pore, over 300 miles away. Arauca is 
a little town of 3,472 inhabitants, lying on the 
south shore of the river of the same namje. The 



230 COLOMBIA 

opposite bank pertains to Venezuela. Here, also, 
is the national Custom-house, but the revenue returns 
are very scanty, insufficient to pay even the moderate 
expenses of the officials. This is not due entirely 
to the small volume of commerce, but to the fact 
also that two -thirds of the trade is contraband. The 
length of the frontier, some 450 miles, guarded 
only by a half-dozen revenue officers, and the 
proximity of Venezuelan trading-posts, make smug- 
gling temptingly easy ; wherever there is a 
Colombian village, there is also a Venezuelan settle- 
ment to match it, across the frontier, thriving on 
illicit trade, and placed there solely to be enabled 
to pass into Colombia with impunity merchandise 
already enhanced by high duties upon entering into 
Venezuela. In these Colombian towns, accordingly, 
there are many Venezuelans ; commercial relations 
are chiefly with Venezuela, and Venezuelan njoney, 
not Colombian bills, generally circulates. 

The only present-day importance of Casanare is 
on account of its cattle industry. According to Padre 
Delgado, there were in 1907 some 150 hat as or 
cattle ranches, some with as many as 15,000 to 
20,000 head, others with not more than 300 : he 
estimates the total number of cattle at not more 
than 250,000, and some 50,000 horses in addition. 
The number has since gradually increased!. The 
animals for the most part are poor, lean stock. All 
is not plain sailing for the cattle breeder. /jThere 
is an abundance of natural grazing} lands, but the 
vaunted richness of the llanos proves to be much 
of a myth. Immense herds could! undoubtedly be 
raised here, and in the course of generations, when 
cattle lands elsewhere in the world, as is already 
happening in parts of the United States and 
Argentina, become too valuable for grazing, the 
llanos will unquestionably become vast cattle ranges. 
But there are many present-day disadvantages^ 




S 

D 



ffi 



<J 
3 





THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 231 

There is an almost total lack of road's ; such as 
exist are horrible, and can be traversed! only with 
some danger ; the swamps and morasses, and 
especially the rivers, unbridged, furnish grave 
obstacles to land travel in the rainy season ; the 
rivers are really navigable only in the rainy 
season, and the distance to the ocean is discouraging. 
And then climatic conditions are adverse. For eight 
or nine months in the year there is such an over- 
abundance of rain that, in default of proper atten- 
tion to the watercourses, the savannahs become 
swamped and the settlements menaced with ruin. 
On the other hand, the drought during the rest of 
the year is so intense that the smaller streams dry 
up and the parched grass affords insufficient susten- 
ance for the live-stock. Of course, these adverse 
conditions are largely remediable, but the Govern- 
ment is at present powerless, and seems destined 
to remain so for years to come, to command resources 
sufficient to encompass the remedy. Private enter- 
prise could do little more than dig artesian wells, 
which could serve for irrigation as well as supply, 
badly needed drinking water, and thus cope with the 
worst evils of the dry season. SVater, it is reported 
can be found almost anywhere, even in the extreme 
drought, at a depth of only a few feet. The vaster 
measures, the proper attention to the watercourses, so 
as at once to limit the overflow in the time of freshets 
and by storage utilize for beneficial purposes the now 
maleficent floods, require an enormous capital ex- 
penditure. It seems scarcely likely that in the 
present stage of Colombia's development private 
interests, not even the richest " beef barons " of the 
world, will undertake the work. In a few sections 
of the llanoSy however, there are undeniably favour- 
able opportunities for foreign as well as native 
investment, on a comparatively large scale, in cattle" 
ranches ; in addition to tracts that could be 



232 COLOMBIA 

purchased from private owners, there are many 
savannahs that are still baldias, or public lands. 
Possibly there might be a field, too, for packing- 
houses, in connection with a line of refrigerator 
steamers, for which, however, a new type would 
have to be devised. The investments should be 
on a large scale, because without considerable surplus 
capital available to overcome obstacles and to tide 
over the delays that seem inevitable in all Colombian 
enterprises, one would not be well advised to enter 
.the field. 

For agriculture the prospects are less favourable 
than for cattle breeding. J. M. Vargas Vergara, a 
Colombian authority on the eastern domains of his 
country, says : 

" A deeply-rooted idea prevails among us that 
the llano is a privileged region which has no equal 
for exuberance and fertility of soil. ... In my 
opinion there are no poorer lands nor any less 
suitable for agriculture in the whole Republic. Does 
not the fact that immense areas of land are endowed 
with no vegetation other than grasses and leguminous 
shrubs prove the soil to be thin and to contain little 
vegetable humus? Is this the vegetation of the 
valley of the Cauca, of the Magdalena, of the 
Caquetd? Where is the fertility of the llanos! I 
have seen the pasture insufficient even to breed 
cattle, and have seen them die for lack of nourish- 
ment. Not a single plant of those that man needs 
for his sustenance attracted my attention by its 
growth or by its yield. The llano is fertile only 
for him who knows it not." 

Of course, there are exceptions, as the writer takes 
care to point out. The foot of the Cordillera, the 
vegas of the Guaviare, the highlands of the Ynirida 
(he is speaking also of the region to the south of 
the llanos), the banks of the Guainia and Rio 
Negro are suitable for agriculture : sugar-cane could 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 233 

be raised, and there are good rice lands. At Arau- 
quita, a village on the Arauca considerably further 
upstream than the town of Arauca and situated on 
the fringe of the rich forest of the little known but 
promising Sarare River section, the soil is exceed- 
ingly fertile, and its rice, cacao, sugar, maize, and 
plantains, besides rubber and resins from the nearby 
forests, furnish a trade of some little importance. 

The same writer attributes the legend as to the 
richness of the llanos to the pleasing effect they 
produce upon the traveller, wearied with the hard- 
ships of mountain travel, when they first meet his 
awebound gaze. The striking impression conveyed 
is depicted by Professor Rothlisberger, in a well- 
known passage which I believe has not hitherto 
found its way into, English print : J 

1 El Dorado (Bern, 1898, pp. 211, 212). The reader will pardon 
the frequent quotations in this chapter, but although I had ex- 
tensive interests some years ago in large concessions in some 
parts of this region, I have never visited any of the places 
mentioned, and all my information is based on hearsay. Of 
recent writers, Burger and the scholarly prelate who writes so 
charmingly under the name of Dr. Mozans, have described the trip 
on the Meta, Father Delgado minutely surveys Casanare, Professor 
Bingham describes his route across the northern llanos from Arauca 
via Pore to Boyacd, Modesto Garcia and Santiago Perez Triana the 
voyage down the Vichada, Crevaux his travels on the Guaviare 
(which he attempted to name de Lesseps), the Caqueta, and the 
Putumayo, also described by Reyes, Simson, Rocha, Miguel Triana, 
and see the Boletin de la Sociedad Geografica de Lima, vol. xv. (1904), 
p. 60 (good map), and Boletin del Ministro de Fomento (Lima), 1903, 
p. 86 ; Dr. Koch-Griinberg supplies information as to many of the 
southern rivers, Montolieu as to theYnirida (Bull.de la Soc. deGeog., 
p. 289, 1880). Geographically important are Brisson's Casanare, the 
reports of the engineers of the Boundary Commission in Uribe's 
Anales Diplomaticos, vols. i. and ii., and Dr. Hamilton Rice's article on 
the Vaupes in the Geog. Journal, June, 1910 (for titles of the works 
mentioned above, see the Bibliography ; for Chaffangon's, Stradelli's, 
and other travels, see the Bibliography in Dalton's Venezuela) (South 
American Series). Valuable information is to be had from Vargas 
Vergara's articles in the Boletin de Obras Publicas (Bogota, 1909), 
and in the reports published in the Informe del Ministro de Gobierno 
(Bogota, 1912). 



234 COLOMBIA 

" How can I 'describe my astonishment and rapture 
as of a sudden I saw the boundless plains of the 
llanos spread out before me? It is difficult to form 
an idea of the immensity and grandeur of this 
panorama, which will ever remain indelibly engraven 
on the spectator's memory. We stand on the last 
outpost of the Cordillera, only 700 metres abotfe 
the level of the sea, in a mighty virgin forest. 
To the right, streams gush out from mountain gorges 
to the plains. To the left, the Cordillera loses itself 
in the dim distant north, throwing out here and 
there a branch that seems in the blue distance like 
an outpost of a fortress. These are the mountains 
of Medina, separated from the main mass. Before 
us the llanos stretch 1 out in a perfect semicircle of a 
radius of 30 leagues. No greater contrast can be 
imagined than that between the intricate massive - 
ness of the Cordillera, rising to the region of per- 
petual snow, and this uniform tropical plain. Great 
and majestic in its solitude and mystery is the ocean ; 
greater and more impiressivle are the llanos. The ocean 
waves are rigid and dead, an image of Drad and 
of blind Might ; but the llano, stre*wn with variegated 
colours, is the image of Life Life that preaches 
unto man not his puny impotence, but an awaken- 
ing; Hope, such as aroused the companions of 
Columbus when the magic cry rang out, ' Land ! 
land 1 ' 

" The llanos are said to be monotonous ; not so, 
as seen from this place. Countless rivers cut slowly 
through the plains, like silver ribbons unwinding 
in the distance. These streams are all fringed with 
dense virgin forest, so that three intermingled 
colours strew the landscape the silver-grey of the 
waters, the lush green-grey of the pastures, 
heightened in colour during the fertile rainy season, 
and the flecks of forest, dark shadows diversifying 
the predominant green. . . ." 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 235 

A few regions of Casanare, but very few, are 
hindered in their development by occasional out- 
breaks of heathen Indians, but the number of these 
throughout the territory appears to have been ex- 
aggeratedly reported. Father Delgado states that 
the number of infidels approximates only 2,000, a 
mere handful when the vast extent of territory 
through which they are dispersed is considered. The 
civilized population is about 16,000 to 20,000, 
gathered for the most part in or around a dozen 
villages. The old type llanero, half Spanish, half 
Indian, the wild, brave, restless, devil-may-care cow- 
boy, a " Cossack of the Colombian Steppes " and 
a boastful Tartarin full of poetic fire, rolled into one, 
is rapidly disappearing. Vanished is the poetry and 
romance of his life, if it ever really existed outside 
of his remarkable cantos, wherein heroic exploits, 
as soldier, as hunter, and as gallant lover, are re- 
counted with a superb hyperbole. He seems to have 
tamed down completely, in spite of the solitary, open- 
air life, and in spite of the continuance of a certain 
element of danger, battling with the elements 
encounters with jaguars, reptiles, and savage Indians 
are, however, in fact, the rarest of episodes in the 
life of even the most daring and exposed llanero. 

" The great fact that does impress one," writes 
Professor Bingham, 1 " is the general shiftlessness 
and carelessness of the common people. They seem 
to be contented with less than any civilized people 
I have ever seen. Their food is wretched and infre- 
quent, their houses are extremely dirty, they are 
constantly tormented by noxious insects, everything 
that they can buy is expensive, there is little evidence 
of a beneficent Government, titles to property seem 
to be insecure, and yet with it all they rarely com- 

* Pp. 113, 115, Journal of an Expedition Across Venezuela and 
Colombia (New Haven, Conn., and London, T. Fisher Unwin, 
1909). 



236 COLOMBIA 

plain. They seem to be without ambition." " The 
llanero or cowboy is rather wild, restless, and shift- 
less, not caring to work except on horseback. The 
peon seems to be a much more valuable citizen. 
But it is very difficult to draw any distinct lines, 
and there seem to be few definite types . . . the 
children are naked or scantily clad, and most of 
them have enlarged spleens and other malarial 
symptoms.'* 

Malarial fevers are everywhere prevalent, as might 
be expected where there are so many swamps. 
Besides, the natives use stagnant water, often un- 
speakably bad, uncontaminated Drivers being often 
at a great distance, and their "wells, uncovered and 
unprotected, are other breeding-grounds of disease. 
The heat, however, is tempered by the constant 
winds, often rising, particularly at the beginning of 
the rains, to the violence of destructive hurricanes. 

The Meta, the principal river of the llanos, is 
infrequently navigated at high water by small 
steamers from Ciudad Bolivar (Venezuela) to Drocu6, 
a point near the Andes, some 300 miles from the 
Orinoco and about 1,000 miles from the Atlantic. 
The Custom-hause here is very like that at Arauca, 
the expenses of administration not being covered 
by the duties collected. Boats occasionally ascend 
higher upstream to the little village of Barrigon, 
which is only two days* ride from Villavicencio, at 
the foot of the Cordillera. Villavicencio, the capital 
of the Meta territory, is at a distance of only 21 
leagues from; Bogfotd, usually covered on horse in two 
or two and a half days. Orocu exports hides, a little 
coffee brought down from the eastern slope of 
the Andes, some odds and ends of rubber and* other 
forest products, and plumes from the garza, the 
graceful Colombian heron that is being rapidly 
exterminated to gratify the vanity of womenfolk. 

The Orinoco forms the boundary of Colombia 




VAQUERO, OR COWBOY. 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 237 

from its junction with the Meta south for a dis- 
tance of 230 miles, but its navigation is interrupted 
by the rapids of Atures and Maipures, which 
furnished the theme for brilliant passages, now 
classic, in Humboldt's narrative of his equinoctial 
voyages. Just below the rapids the main stream 
receives the waters of the Vichada, a river which 
appears never yet to have been entered by a steamer 
or launch, and is wholly unsettled except by a few 
Indian tribes. The Vichada supplies a large share 
of the yucca that forms the chief food of the upper 
Orinoco region. This starchy plant (also called 
manihof) is of two varieties, the bitter and the 
sweet ; the former, curiously enough, is poisonous, 
but from it is made, extracting the poison, the 
manoco and cassava (known also in the West Indies 
and the Guianas), the main articles in the scanty diet, 
sometimes verging on famine-rations, of the region. 

South of the Vichada is the Guaviare, which, with 
the affluents Ynirida and Atabapo near its mouth, 
is the last, or rather the first, great tributary of the 
Orinoco. Here we enter the great forest belt, the 
heart of South America, watered by the Amazon 
system, with which, through its strange piracy from 
the Rio Negro of the waters of the Ca,siquiare, thje 
Orinoco is connected. 

Of the Amazon rivers, four in Colombia ajre 
worthy of special mention, the Rio Negro, called 
the Guainia in the upper part of its course, its tribu- 
tary the Vaup-es (spelled also Waupes), the Caquetd, 
and the now notorious Putumayo. The tide of 
initial exploration of this region has but recently 
begun, coincident with the development of the 
rubber industry, which, in lieu of furnishing a factor 
of civilization, has afforded scope for displays of 
primal barbarism on the part of whites against the 
less civilized but certainly less savage Indians. 

The GuaViare (still of the Drinco system; but 



238 COLOMBIA 

during flood-time interlaced by connecting swamps 
and overflows with the Amazon streams) is formed by 
the union of the Ariari with the Guayabero. None 
of the three is really navigable ; in the dry season 
even canoes are stranded several times a day, and in 
the rainy season there are difficulties. The Ariari 
is connected with Villavicencio by a trocha, a rough 
foot trail most of the way ; six days' canoe^njgi 
down the Ariari is required before reaching the 
Guayabero ; one day more brings one to San Jos, 
a group of twenty houses, where a fair trade in 
rubber is carried on. There is also a kind of a, 
road over which cattle can be driven from San 
Martin, the last outpost of civilization on the llanos, 
to San Jos6. Although the distance in a bee-line 
is only about 35 leagues, the road, following all the 
turns of the ridge of the watershed hill, is about 
45 leagues in length ; its character can be judged 
by the fact that fifteen days' march is required to 
travel it. This road goes through a well -endowed, 
rich, fertile, and beautiful region, with a healthful 
climate, dry and relatively cool (average 80), where 
extensive cattle ranches could be established to 
better advantage than on the llanos, but in its whole 
extent there is not a habitation nor a human being 
the beasts exercise complete dominion. The main 
axis of this series of hills the direction of the 
branches is unknown falls to the River Ariari at 
its confluence with the Guayabero, the right bank 
of which it coasts for a long distance and then 
follows in the same direction, passing Puerto Cana 
on the Itilla : thereafter its direction is unknown. 
The geological formation of these hills and the 
known outcroppings of others, probably allied, to 
the south and south-east, is older than that of the 
Eastern-. Cordillera of the Andes ; they probably 
constitute the remains of the north-western part of 
the old piano alto, which, in remote geological times, 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 239 

when the Amazon before its reversal flowed into 
an East Andean sea, was the predominant feature 
of the topography of South America. 1 

From San Jos6, a trocha of 16 leagues through 
the virgin forest, traversable only on foot, and usually 
taking four or five days, leads to Calamar, a port 
on the River Unilla, and the rubber centre of the 
region. The ground here is level and crossed by 
an infinity of brooks that during the dry season,, 
which lasts only three months, dry up completely. 
It is at this epoch that the rubber-gatherers come 
out of the mantana with the rubber they have col- 
lected, fleeing to escape thirst. The " winter " or 
rainy season lasts from April to November without 
interruption the rivers rise incredibly, inundating 
three-fourths of the region, which is consequently 
extremely unhealthy, with very sudden changes of 
temperature, dropping from 100 in the daytime to 
72 at night. There are, in addition to the heathen 
Indians of the vicinity, about 400 rubber -gatherers 
or caucheros who make Calamar their headquarters. 
These are nearly all Tolimenses who have migrated 
from the Caguan (a tributary of the Caquetd), which 
they abandoned after exhausting the black rubber 
there : they are like a devastating horde, destroying 
the trees as they advance onwards to the Rio Negro : 
it is believed that the rubber in these regions will 
not last them five years more. It is only the black 
rubber, caacho negro, that they exploit, and this 
they do by cutting down the tree, which then yields 
25 to 75 pounds of rubber. The elsewhere more 
prized hevea or siringa, the Para rubber, and balata, 
a kind of guttapercha, are found as isolated trees, 
one to the acre or less, throughout the region, but 
these, which they could only exploit by the slow 

1 See "Some Factors of Geographical Distribution in South 
America/' by John D. Haseman (Annals of the New York Academy of 
Science, 1912, vol. xxii., 9-112). 



240 COLOMBIA 

process of tapping, they do not toudi. These 
caucheros, not 5 per cent, of whom can read or 
write, are hardy workers and energetic, withal 
orderly and submissive to the authorities, but usually 
heavily indebted to the traders. 

The Unilla (in many maps it is erroneously attri- 
buted to the Guaviare) forms, with the Itilla, the 
Vaupes River, which was first mapped in 1907 by 
Dr. Hamilton Rice. Since then rubber exploitation 
and the incident commercial development have been 
going on apace. Along the Vaupes and the nearby 
Apoporis (chief tributary of th,e Caquetd) are many 
well-organized rubber enterprises : the settlers 
" own " enormous areas of forest, which they ex- 
ploit, and some have at their command numerous 
tribes of intelligent, robust, and industrious Indians, 
and are accordingly enabled thereby to get the 
rubber that can, only be secured by bleeding, the 
Para, balata, and other Varieties. The Indians in 
this section, in contrast to that controlled or menaced 
by the Peruvians to the south, appear to be well 
treated. The trade of this region is entirely vii 
the Rio Negro to Manaos on the Amazon ; the 
annual production of rubber is about 125,000 pounds, 
in exchange for which large quantities of merchandise 
and fire-arms are imported from Brazil. The land 
of the Vaupes territory is of fair quality ; some 
little agriculture is being developed ; the climatej 
is far from being as bad as the generality of the' 
Amazon belt ; the temperature is more uniform, and 
the river is " black water." 

In this unending tropic wilderness it is of prime 
importance whether the river waters be " aguas 
negras " or " aguas claras." The former, even when 
swollen by the rains, appear almost black when seen 
in mass, and they coincide with or cause an absence 
of mosquitoes and generally a more healthful 
locality ; their waters, free from alligators and the 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 241 

bloodthirsty little cannibal fish, the caribe, contain 
less organic matter and are purer. Many theories 
have been advanced as to the cause of the pheno- 
menon of " black " water. In Vargas Vergara's 
opinion, the colour is due to some special plant 
which tints the water and is not decomposed owing 
to the absence of certain mineral salts which, when 
present, immediately destroy the colouration ; among 
the natives the general opinion is that this plant 
is the sarsaparilla. 

From the Itilla (headstream of the Vaupes), com- 
munication is had by trochas with the banks of the 
Macaya, which, uniting with the Ajaju at a point 
called Corinto, forms the Apoporis, a river of great 
width and depth in the rainy season, but six chorros 
or cascades before it empties into the Caquetd pre- 
vent navigation. The Ajaju was recently explored 
by the comisario of the Vaupes territory ; going- 
up it for four days, he reports it to be a beautiful 
river, totally different from the others of the region, 
flowing in majestic curves at which appear enormous 
and fantastic cliffs standing out like ruins of feudal 
castles. The most promising of the regions in this 
vicinity, however, is that of the Mesaya River, where 
broad savannahs and high ground appear to offer 
exceptional advantages for settlers, and where, ac- 
cordingly, the Government is now planning to found 
an agricultural colony. 

Following the Apoporis downstream, we reach the 
Caquetd River, a direct and important tributary of 
the Amazon, into which it flows in Brazilian terri- 
tory. Such little geographical knowledge of the 
stream and of its twin brother, the Putumayo, to the 
south, as the Spanish missionaries and some Pasto 
traders before 1830 had possessed had been lost, 
until 1876, when an intrepid young Colombian, seek- 
ing a cheaper outlet for the cinchona bark which 
his firm was then collecting on the slopes of the 

17 



242 COLOMBIA 

Andes near Pasto, boldly launched his canoe on the 
waters of the Putumayo and floated downstream for 
more than a thousand miles., braving unknown terrors, 
till at length he attained the giant Amazon. This 
was Rafael Reyes, later President of Colombia. He 
followed up his exploit by establishing steam naviga- 
tion on the Putumayo, of which, in the following 
year, Crevaux, the daring French explorer, took 
advantage, ascending and roughly mapping the Putu- 
mayo ; thence, crossing th;e short intervening land, he 
descended by the Caquetd, being the first white man 
since the Spanish days to traverse its entire length, 
and enriching geographical literature by a most 
interesting narrative of his journey. 

With the decline of the quina trade, the Caquetd 
and Putumayo were again completely abandonee!, 
until a few years ago the advancing prices of rubber 
once again drew commercial adventurers to their 
shores. The numerous tribes of dreaded Indians 
who roamed the unknown forests were subjugated, in 
the manner of the conqaistadores of yore, by bare 
handfuls of men. On the Putumayo and its tribu- 
taries, a single firm of Peruvians later gained con- 
trol of the situation, ruthlessly seized the fruits of 
the first painful steps and arduous labours of the 
Colombian conquerors (upon whom, however, little 
sympathy need be wasted), and then, in lust of the 
black gold, rubber, beg'an enslaving, pillaging, tor- 
turing, and massacring their poor victims, until at 
last belated reports, confirmed by Sir Rog;er Case- 
ment's revelations, horrified the civilized world and 
aroused a widespread indignation, now lulled by the 
joint action of Great Britain and the United States 
sending Consuls to further investigate, and receiving 
the promise of Peru to punish the perpetrators of 
the atrocities. It is more than doubtful whether the 
real culprits, the men " higher up/' will ever receive 
their deserts. One vital point seems to have been 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 243 

almost ignored in all European and North American 
newspaper discussion of the atrocities, and that is, 
that the region in question lies within the " twilight 
zone/' where contending boundaries overlap, and 
where jurisdiction is claimed by disputing nations, 
but can be effectively exercised by none without 
precipitating a war. 1 

The victims have not remained entirely passive. 
Both here and on the Caqueta vengeance is occa- 
sionally wreaked by the despoiled and wronged 
Indians against their " white " oppressors, many of 
whom have paid with their lives the attempt to im- 
plant slavery anew. The Indian works by force only, 
and the whites are consequently obliged to be con- 
stantly in a state of military tension and alertness. 
" If, for a single night, guard were not kept in any 
of the sections I know," writes the comisario of the 
lower Caquetd, in a recent report, " and the fire- 
arms were carelessly left within reach of the natives, 
in a few hours not a single white would be left in 
those regions." Catholic missionaries alone seem 
able to cope with the problem of reducing to civiliza- 
tion, or even to peaceful relations, tribes that have 
once been aroused to hostility against the whites. 

iWith the missionaries serving as an advance* 
guard, the interesting question arises, What com- 
mercial development, if any, can be looked for in this 
region? But first, let us see the present state of trade. 

The Putumayo is easily navigable in its lower 
course at all seasons, and in its upper to very near 
the Andes. The proximity of its headwaters to Pasto 
furnishes the opportunity for a slight trade with 
that city, but practically all its rubber goes out 
through the Amazon, and its goods come in by the 
same route. As for the Caquetd River, there is an 

1 See the author's article in the Evening Post (N.Y.), August 28, 
1912. And see The Times' South African Supplement, April 29, 1913, 
which has appeared since this volume went to press. 



244 COLOMBIA 

enormous difference in the volume of its water at 
the dry season and at the rainy season, and it happens 
that it is in the dry season that steamers are most 
needed for the rubber trade. At best, the Caquetd 
is not yet a useful highway. In the Brazilian part 
its channel is only just beginning to be known ; 
in the Colombian part pilots will have to be trained, 
soundings made, and other difficulties learned and 
overcome before regular navigation can be under- 
taken in safety. Moreover, the Araracuara Rapids 
(there is a fearful picture in Crevaux's book showing 
his frail canoe dashing down some falls at an angle of 
forty -five degrees between rocky walls) divide the 
navigation of the river into two parts. The lower river 
necessarily trades, therefore, with Brazil : the Colom- 
bian frontier is twenty days' steaming from Manaos. 
The colonists of the upper river and its branches, 
on the other hand, there being; no near prospect 
whatever of getting by the rapids, must necessarily 
cultivate commercial relations with the Colombian 
Departments of Huila and Narino. There is a trail 
from Pasto to Mocoa, an old-established town long 
used as a penal settlement, 20 miles distant from 
the Putumayo, and separated from the Caquetd by 
a low line of hills. A new mule-road, on which the 
Government has been doing excellent work of late, 
55 miles long, from Guadalupe, in the southern part 
of Huila, crosses the divide of the Eastern Cordillera 
to Florencia, near the Orteguasa branch of the 
Caquetd, the last hamlet before entering the setvas. 
The Government has also been extending other means 
of communication ; the telegraph has just been 
established to Sibundoy. 

Mr. Leo E. Miller, of the American Museum of 
Natural History, writes : 

"Florencia is a small town, with a few hundred inhabitants, but 
growing rapidly. Altitude $75 feet. The whole Department of the 
Caquita contains but two thousand souls, according to the alcalde 




a 



a 
< 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 245 

of Florencia, not including Indians. Provisions can be had at 
Florencia, but prices of everything but meat and corn very high. 

" Our first work was done a short distance above the town, at an 
elevation of 1,000 feet, at the ranch of one Don Bias. . . . The 
clearing was the largest I had seen in this locality, there being 
pasture, platanal, cacao, and corn. In this open country birds were 
abundant. The surrounding forest was comparatively open, and 
not far away. From the elevated position one has a good view of 
the Caquetd, a perfect ocean of forest stretching out ahead as far as 
the eye can see, which on clear days is many miles. The sight is 
most impressive. There is not a single rise visible and the forest is 
of uniform height. 

"The forest is comparatively open, that is, free from dense 
undergrowth. Trees tall, few tree-ferns : many climbing lilies and 
also many palms. Not much moss. Along the streams there is 
much bamboo amd also wild cane, often mixed with dense clumps 
of creepers, tall grass, and thorny bushes. In places there are 
small clumps, perhaps a few acres in extent, of dense low trees 
resembling 'cecropas' and called 'restrojo.' Streams and rivers 
are numerous, and one is at once impressed with their large size 
and depth. Also, while swift, they are so silent that one may be 
near a large river and not know its presence until at the very 
edge. 

" Clouds hang low, often descending to the ground, especially in 
the early morning and late night, causing a dense fog. 

" We happened to strike the country in the height of the rainy 
season : but there were frequently intervals of three bright days 
with not a drop of rain. On the other days the showers, which 
were heavy, were confined to the early morning, the afternoon after 
4 p.m., and night. It rarely rained all day long. About 4 p.m. a 
cool wind invariably sprang up. At noon the heat was rather 
intense, but not nearly so great as in the Magdalena Valley (as I now 
discover) below Neiva. The nights were cold, so that two blankets 
were none too many. The expedition was without a thermometer, 
so no observations as to temperatures could be made. It is said 
that during the dry season (December, January, and February) the 
heat is terrific and there is much fever owing to the clouds of 
mosquitoes that emerge from the pools left by the receding water." 

Colombia claims a part of the Napo River, and 
also claims to bound on the Amazon itself for a 
distance of 600 miles, but in these regions, to the: 
south of the Putumayo, she has never had commercial' 
relations, nor thither dispatched colonists, nor ever 



246 COLOMBIA 

been able either to exercise or even to attempt 
effective jurisdiction. On the other hand, adverse 
claims to the Putumayo and the Caquetd are raised 
against her. 

Confining ourselves specifically to the region north 
of the Putumayo (and even that hardly seems worth 1 
fighting for from the present-day standpoint, except 
that the nation's honour is involved in maintaining 
the nation's territorial integrity), what future 
has it? 

The question is part of the larger one which Mr. 
Bryce discusses in his recent work on South 
America, 1 " Can these Amazonian selvas, which form 
the largest unoccupied fertile space on the earth's 
surface, be reclaimed for the service of man? 

" This question is not a practical one for our 
generation, and I mention it only because it raises 
an interesting problem, the solution of which will 
one day be attempted, since so vast and so fertile 
an area cannot be left for ever useless." 

One must agree with Mr. Bryce that the nation, 
not being great or wealthy, cannot attempt the thing 
itself on a large scale, and that it is doubtful whether 
capitalists from other countries will embark on such 
an enterprise, which could hardly be carried out 
except by the aid of a Government. But I think 
Mr. Bryce is inclined to exaggerate the difficulties 
when he writes : "If attempted at all, it must be 
on a large scale, for such gradual colonization by 
settlers coming in small groups, as would be the 
natural process in the temperate regions, is scarcely 
possible in a country where man has so powerful a 
nature to overcome." It is a little obscure whether 
Mr. Bryce is referring- to the colonization of the 
whole setva region, or simply to the reclamation of 
the lower lands along the banks of the rivers. Cer- 
tainly, as far as the Colombian selvas are concerned, 
* p. 560, j. 



THE LLANOS AND THE SELVAS 247 

there is considerable land that escapes inundation 
and that would be suitable for tropical agriculture ; 
other forest products besides rubber could and 
probably will be exploited, with increased navigation 
facilities. The construction of the Panama Canal has 
taught us for all time that far worse pest -holes in 
the tropics than the Caquetd territory can be sani- 
tated and made habitable for the white man. Even 
without resources approaching those at the command 
of Dr. Gorgas and his colleagues, and on a small 
scale, provided a fair degree of intelligence be exer- 
cised, malaria can be held in check. With malaria 
held in check, man would be well able to cope 
with the power of Nature. It is doubtful whether 
the heat, the long rainy season, and the over-exuber- 
ance of vegetation are any more powerful natural 
obstacles than the rigours of a North-west winter. 
No striking advance, no stupendous development 
of the kind occasionally predicted in the fantasies 
of some Colombian prophets, need be looked forward 
to by this or the coming generation. No very large 
undertakings are likely for some time to come to 
spring up in the Caquetd, but as enterprising men 
will ever be lured on by the great rewards that meet 
great exertions, one can look to see a gradual 
development, slow, it is true, but progressive, by 
just such colonization by settlers from adjacent parts 
of Colombia, and occasional foreigners, as Mr. Bryce 
deems "scarcely possible.' 1 



CHAPTER XVI 
EDUCATION AND THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE 

WE have seen how little material progress Colombia 
has made, how undeveloped is her natural wealth, Jiow 
trackless her wildernesses, how unbridged and un- 
railroaded her territory, how untilled her fertile fields. 
But a nation's poverty may be pardoned her, if it 
be the ascetic poverty that goes with an intense 
devotion to things of the intellect or things of the; 
souL Can Colombia plead in extenuation at the bar 
of the world that, withal her land be much as Nature 
left it, she has not neglected the higher realms? 

She can and she cannot. A small intellectual 
coterie, an 6lite, has marched with the vanguard of 
the arts and letters of the modern Spanish world, 
but, alas 1 at the expense or to the neglect of the 
masses. It is said tha,t 70 per cent, of Colombia's 
population is illiterate, can neither read nor write. 
Education ! We might almost be justified in brush- 
ing the word angrily aside, saying, '* Education 1 
there is no education in Colombia." But after years of 
dire abandonment there are increasing evidences thpt 
the nation is now, in fact, awakening to her edu- 
cational needs, ' not merely vaguely generalizing 
about them with sonorous phrases. Tangible evi- 
dence is furnished by the increase in the number of 
educational institutions and in the number of pupils, 
increased appropriations, and practical proposals for 
pension funds for teachers. The teacher's salaries* 

MS 



EDUCATION 249 

though still pitiably small, are at least being paid 
regularly. It is of little value to examine the old 
statistics or figures that serve as such. The public 
or common school system, which began to develop 
in the seventies, later received a serious set -bade, 
partly because of revolutions, partly because of 
political hostilities, and is only now again coming 
to the front. The comparative statistics for 1911 and 
1912 show a great stride forward : 

1911. 1912. Increase. 

Number of Educational Insti- 
tutions of every kind (public 
and private) 4,070 4,371 301 

Number of Students 245*839 272,873 27,034 

Under the Constitution, attendance on the public 
schools is gratuitous, but not obligatory. The public 
schools throughout the country, and to a limited 
extent private and clerical institutions which receive 
aid from the Government, are under the supreme 
direction and inspection of the Minister of Public 
Instruction, one of the Cabinet officers. In each 
department there is a Director-General of Public 
Instruction under his direct supervision. Primary 
instruction, however, appertains to the departments 
and municipalities, which have to supply the buildings 
and furniture and pay the salaries of the teachers, 
while the National Government provides the text- 
books, supplies, and appliances. Appropriations by 
the departments and municipalities are comparatively 
generous only in Antioquia, Caldas, and Valle, which 
form a notable exception to the rest of the country : 
in these three, save in remoter isolated regions, prac- 
tically all the children are now going to the elemen- 
tary schools, and at least learning to read and write. 
Were this the case throughout the country, one might 

The figures given for 1907 were 382,683 students, but they are of 
doubtful reliability 



250 COLOMBIA 

be well content for the time being, as it would be 
asking too much, in view of the general lack of 
means, to expect any very high order of instruction, 
any modernized methods or up-to-date apparatus, 
anything more than a teacher and a place wherein to 
teach. School equipment is generally insufficient and 
defective ; the unsanitary slate, for instance, is still 
in use, without apparently a thought of abolishing 
it. The elements of hygiene, which more than any- 
thing need to be drilled into the Colombian prole- 
tariat, are not taught even by example the same 
unhygienic conditions are allowed to prevail in the 
schoolhouses as outside of them, in spite of an 
elaborate sanitary code for schools. 

Point one to be taken into account in considering 
the intellectual life of Colombia : the clergy largely 
dominate the educational system. The fundamental 
law provides " Public education shall be organized 
and directed in concordance with the Catholic 
religion." However much complete separation of 
Church and State might be desirable under other 
conditions, in the existing state of affairs the co- 
operation of the Church in matters educational seems 
essential. The missionaries alone can properly under- 
take instruction both among the savage Indians and 
those peaceful and civilized tribes like the Paez 
of Tierra Adentro in the Cauca, 1 who have not yet 
been completely Hispanicized, and the financial 
support by the Government of the missions is amply 
justified. Even the most ardent eneihies of the 
religious orders must admit that they are doing good 
work, with a rare degree of self-sacrifice and abne- 
gation, in establishing- and maintaining' schools among 
the heathen. For this, they have devised an admir- 

1 For interesting studies of this race and their region, see H. 
Pittier de Fabrega : Ethnographic and Linguistic Notes on the Paez 
Indians (Lancaster, Pa., 1907), and E. Bizot in Revista del Ministerio 
de Obras Publicas, November, 1909, p. 817. 




RURAL SCHOOL. 




A FAVOURITE PASTIME. 



EDUCATION 



251 



able system of orfelinatos, as in the Goajiro, where 
they take young children as internes and train them 
for a civilized life. 

Side by side with the public schools in the larger, 
towns flourish parochial schools taught by priests 
and nuns and a few private schools. It is to these, 
though their general level is little, if any, better 
than the public schools, that the well-to-do classes 
preferentially send their children. The attendance is 
small in comparison with the public schools. The 
detailed statistics for 1912 of the primary schools 
are as follows : 



Department. 


Number of 
Schools. 


Number of 
Pupils. 


Percentage of 
the Total 
Population. 


Antioquia 
Atlantico 
Bolivar ... ... ... ... 


208 


54 2 63 
4.273 
11,871 


7*31 
371 
2*77 


Boyaca ... .*. ... ... 


34.6 


17 <77 


2*Q< 


Caldas 


248 


/O// 
2d.<c:6 


* y*> 

7'CJQ 


Cauca ... ... ... ... 


138 


"rOO^ 

o ^82 


A'AR 


Cundinamarca 
Huila 


563 
124. 


V>O W< * 
27,027 
7 c8o 


nr*r^> 

375 

4.*77 


Magdalena ..." 
Narifio ... ... ... ... 


104 
176 


/o u y 
4,614 

TC TO3 


"til 

3'6i 
^*^3 


Norte de Santander 
Santander 
Tolima 


153 
389 

2OO 


**' *2 
IO,566 

I4,6l4 
Q.OO2 


D 33 

5-16 
3'<5S 

^'10 


Valle 


22 < 


18 ois 


U 






* u >y i o 




Private schools 


3^56 

354 


229,422 

13,584 






4,010 


243,006 


S'lS 1 



The primary schools are, of course, a heavy drain 
on the financial resources of the local governments. 
The appropriations of the departments in 1912 for 

1 In the United States, 19*62 per cent, of the population is enrolled 
in the schools (1908). 



252 



COLOMBIA 



educational objects in comparison with th'eir total 
appropriations for all branches of the public service 
are shown by the following table, which also gives 
the total appropriations of the municipalities for 
education (1912) : 



Departments. 


Total 
Appropria- 
tions. 


School 
Budget. 


Percentage 
of Total 
Budget. 


School Budgets 
of Municipalities. 




Dollars. 


Dollars. 




Dollars. 


Antioquia 
Atlantico 
Bolivar 








M55,7<>3 
217,560 
548,728 


433,320 
33,**30 
191,218 


2977 
^54 

34' 8 4 


83,610.54 
16,072.00 


Boyaca 







640,331 


^3,285 


17-69 


67,602.20 


Caldas 
Cauca 







406,312 
155,295 


132,764 
41,312 


26-60 


30,359-20 

IO >53-74 


Cundinamarc 


* 




766,950 


136,612 


17-58 


104,850.34 


Huila... 


. 




152,400 


4I,O2O 


26-97 





Magdalena 
Nariiio 







195,194 

738,325* 


39,210 
226,742* 


2O'00 

3071 


13,972.80 


Norte de S 


ntand 


r 


218,340 


61,464 


28-15 


28,855.21 


Santander 


. 




429,664 


122,594 


28*55 


40,822.93 


Tolima 


. 




395> 8 43 


82,764 


20*90 


22,961.65 


Valle ... 







607,804 


153,4% 


25-23 


30,167.70 



The secondary schools, called colegios, both 
public and private, are generally well housed but 
are insufficient in number and often too small to 
admit all who apply. They are found, as a rule, 
only in the larger or the older towns. There are 
229 of these high schools, many of which character- 
istically bear the names of saints San Simon, Santa 
Librada, San Pedro Claver, etc. The total atten- 
dance is 18,802. The largest are those of San 
Bartolom6 and the School of Commerce, in Bogotd, 
each with over 600 students. 

How are the teachers taught? is always perhaps thle 
most interesting question in any school system. The 
incumbents of posts in the high schools are usually 
graduates of the universities or theological semin- 

1 Silver. 



EDUCATION 253 

aries. The primary school teachers are graduated 
from 1 the normal schools, of which there are 9 for 
males and 12 for females throughout the country, 
with a total attendance of 1,184 pupils. They are 
run at a cost of only $176,732 per annum. The 
conclusion is obvious. The course qf instruction is 
five years, comprising Religion and Sacred History, 
Spanish, Reading, Arithmetic, Geometry, Writing, 
Drawing, Music, two years of French, two years of 
English, Rhetoric, Pedagogy, Bookkeeping, Algebra, 
History, and only in the fourth and fifth years a 
smattering of the Natural Sciences (physics, zoology, 
botany, physiology and hygiene, mineralogy), 
attempted to be taught without laboratories or 
appliances. The curriculum for males and females 
is practically the same, the women getting a little 
embroidery and domestic economy. 

The university education, meagre and unsatisfac- 
tory as it is in some directions, is head and shoulders 
superior to the school education, and its real ex- 
cellence along favoured lines enables us to under- 
stand the surprising degree of literary culture to be 
found in the upper strata of life in Colombia. 

The institutions of higher learning are the National 
University at Bogotct, the departmental universities 
at Cartagena, Medellin, Popayan, and Pasto, the 
school of mines at Medellin, the great sanctuary 
of classical learning, the College of Nuestra Seiiora 
del Rosario at Bogotd, founded in 1654 for the 
teaching of theology and medicine (now dropped), 
jurisprudence and the religious philosophy of St. 
Thomas Aquinas, in which tradition it has consistently 
followed. The departmental universities are some- 
what rudimentary, the largest being that at Carta- 
gena with 243 students in three faculties law, 
medicine, and philosophy. At the university of the 
Cauca, a historic institution in Popayan, an attempt 
has recently been made to start an agricultural 



254 COLOMBIA 

school^ a French professor being appointed to the 
faculty, but only a handful of pupils have enrolled. 
The chief reason for the slight importance of the 
departmental institutions is the preponderating desir- 
ability, both from its cultural superiority and as 
opening an avenue to political preferment later in 
life, of the National University at the capital, to 
which students from all departments are attracted. 
At this institution there a, re ' 536 students, 232 at- 
tending the law school, 202 the medical school, 58 
the school of mathematics and engineering, and 44 
the dental school. Not more than 25 or 30 per 
cent., however, complete their studies, but the atten- 
dance is rapidly increasing; in 1906, for instance, 
there were only 77 students in the law school. 

To complete our view of Colombian higher edu- 
cation, we must mention the art school and the 
Conservatory of Music of Bogotd, both of which, 
due to the national bent for art and music, do 
remarkably good work considering the scanty 
resources they command. 

It will be observed from this summary that the 
natural sciences are left entirely out of account in 
the education of Colombia ; barring certain courses 
necessarily given in the schools of medicine and 
engineering, the study of natural phenomena is 
totally neglected ; nowhere can courses of pure 
science be pursued. This neglect of the sciences in 
favour of the humanities in early life, with its natural 
consequences in adult years, is point number two 
to be borne in mind in considering the intellectual 
movement in Colombia. Since the early days of 
Mutis, Caldas, Zea, and their companions, Colombia 
has had but few scientists who have pursued original 
researches or whose names even have travelled out- 
side their own land : perhaps the only two are 
Triana, an eminent and useful botanist, who rescued 

1 1912, 



JiUU<JAJLl<JJN 

Mutis's work from rotting in Madrid, and Ezequiel 
Uricoechea, a Yale graduate, who distinguished him- 
self by his work as a linguist and archaeologist. As 
a true scientist, too, and a painstaking and noble 
one, though not in the field of the natural sciences, 
we must place Jos6 Rufino Cuervo, who died last 
year in Paris, a most learned investigator whose 
researches into the history of the Spanish language 
and literature and his practical work as a lexico- 
grapher place him in the front rank of philologists. 
It is significant, however, that these three men lived 
and did their best work abroad. There are Colom- 
bians to-day who have done and are doing good 
work in their own country, in botany, in geology, 
in archaeology, men like Santiago Cortes, Tulio 
Ospina, Carlos Cuervo Marquez, Ernesto Restrepo 
Tirado, and others, but they are a mere handful, and 
it must be confessed that the intellectual atmosphere 
is not stimulating to original scientific researches. 
It is a fact that for any high order of scientific edu- 
cation students must go abroad ; of necessity, few 
could stand the expense, and of the few, still fewer, 
will have the strength of character to withstand the 
temptations incident to youth and luring them away 
from serious studies. But practically none are 
tempted to go to foreign countries for scientific 
studies (except in the limited fields of medicine and 
engineering), for the simple reason that if they 
returned to their native country they would find little 
scope for their attainments. And so the vicious circle 
is completed. 

Another defect, or, more properly speaking, another 
phase of the general neglect of scientific studies, is 
the absence of agricultural colleges, so very essen- 
tial in an agricultural country, and the paucity of 
manual training and technical schools. 1 The Colom- 

1 The only manual training schools of any importance are two in 
Bogota, run by the Christian Brothers and the Salesian Fathers, and 
one in Medellin. 



256 COLOMBIA 

bian native is not deficient in natural mechanical 
abilities ; when " caught young/' he readily learns 
to handle machinery, and many of the Indians possess 
a hereditary aptitude for some rather difficult indus- 
triesweaving, hat -making, wood -carving, and even 
bridge-building. But they need to be taught new 
methods in the arts and crafts, and they are not. 

The law and medical faculties of the National 
University undoubtedly represent the cream of edu- 
cation in Colombia. In an early chapter I had 
occasion to remark upon the aptitude of the Colom- 
bian for the law. He seems to take less kindly to 
medicine. Nevertheless, being a somewhat less com- 
petitive and consequently a more lucrative profession 
for the generality, medicine attracts, as the figures 
already quoted show, almost as many students as 
the law; The six years' course in Bogotd (I am 
unable to speak of the other schools, and perhaps 
it is just as well) appears, as far as a layman cian 
judge, to be thorough, and to furnish opportunities 
for considerable clinical experience in the hospitals 
under professors who are practitioners of good repu- 
tation and marked ability. The annexe hospitals, 
however, as the doctors themselves are the first to 
point out, need improvement. One trouble with the 
school, and that is the fault of the Government regu- 
lations and not of the faculty, which is not autono- 
mous, is that the students have not received a 
sufficient preparatory education prior to entering the 
school. The institution is poorly endowed, and it 
is only as good as it is because of the unselfish 
devotion of its professors, who, busy practitioners 
all, receive the princely salaries of $25 and $45 aj 
month from the University I 

In one respect the training in the medical schools 
seems decidedly at fault, judged by its results as 
observed in the rural districts* There is no training 
in professional ethics. Good doctors are to be found 



EDUCATION 257 

only in the largest towns. The small country town 
is either without a practitioner or too often cursed 
with a bad one. The country practitioner not only 
seems to recognize no obligations of social service, 
not only is not a leader in the crusade which the 
community should undertake for better hygienic con- 
ditions and the prevention of disease, but he will 
often add to a stupid carelessness an indifference to 
the calls of humanity in individual cases, neglect- 
ing the poor, and even when summoned by the 
rich, he will tarry for hours in his own pursuits 
instead of hastening to the cries of agony. Such a 
state of affairs reacts to the detriment of the pro- 
fession and of the country in ways that are perhapis 
not realized. The respect which the community 
should have for the doctor is diminished, and it is 
especially in tropical countries that the influence of 
the medical profession should be preponderating ; 
it is to. that profession that the first steps of pro- 
gress must be confided ; it is the doctor, not the 
lawyer or the priest, who must be the salvation of 
the country. Again, there is perhaps no greater 
deterrent to the better class immigrant in this twen- 
tieth century than the fear, not of tropical disease, 
but of the lack of proper medical attention for him- 
self, his wife, and his children. 

Of far more influence, actually, on both the general 
and the intellectual life of the community, is the 
journalist. His name is legion. Our narration has 
so far been tinged with sadness in the contemplation 
of lost opportunities ; with the journalist we 
approach the portals of Colombia's one great temple 
the temple of literature at whose shrine we can 
render the sincerest tribute. 

Colombia's periodicals are scarcely newspapers ; 
they are for the most part ephemeral, dependent on 
the personality of a single man, and published for 
expression merely of his political vietws. Few 
18 



258 COLOMBIA 

in the country, have had an existence of a score of 
years, or even of a decade ; only one or two rep-resent 
any considerable financial investment. The typical 
newspaper, poorly printed and on bad paper, will 
consist of four pages, of which two are for adver- 
tising, including legal notices ; there will be a long 
political editorial, a column or a column and a 
half of foreign cable news furnished by the Govern- 
ment, some telegrams, which everybody in town 
has already seen, two or three columns devoted 
to the ventilation of some correspondent's personal 
grievances, a column of local scraps, and a half a 
column of poetry. From a purely news standpoint, 
the best daily in the country is El Nuevo Tiempo, 
of Bogotd, which contains many valuable articles and 
does give a general idea of the state of the country, 
besides publishing a weekly literary supplement of 
a high order of merit. The other Bog'otd papers, 
though excellently written for the most part, are 
of too decidedly political a cast to be really ranked 
as newspapers. Of these, El Liberal, the organ of 
the Liberal party and edited by its leader, General 
Rafael Uribe-Uribe, may be taken as the best. 

Besides the general absence of news, two 'defects 
chiefly characterize Colombian periodicals an un- 
seemly violence in their antipathies, based on political 
opinions, and, where political prejudices do not cloud 
vision, a somewhat indiscriminating and complacent 
praise and lavish overflow of compliments for 
commonplace achievements. On the other hand, the 
main merit is the excellence of literary composition. 
Though substance may be sometimes lacking, style 
is not a certain literary finish, a piquancy, charm, 
force, and vigour of expression are to be had. It 
is impossible to draw the line where journalism 
ends and literature begins, Colombia's men of 
letters have nearly all been journalists ; much of 
their literary work has appeared in the newspapers, 



EDUCATION 259 

or in the weekly or monthly reviews which from 
time to time see the light. M,any of the reviews 
have attained high literary standards : notable 
.among them have been El Semanario, conducted by 
the ardent scientist, Caldas, just prior to the Inde- 
pendence, and El Papel Periodico Hustrado and El 
Repertorio Colorribiano, which ran for a few years 
in the eighties. Several learned societies now publish 
monthlies or occasional periodicals of value, notably 
those of the Academy of Jurisprudence, the Agri- 
cultural Society, the medical, engineering, and dental 
bulletins, and, perhaps ranking highest, the Boletin 
} de Historia 6 Antiguedades* 

To do complete justice to the excellence of 
Colombian literature, as it has shown itself in the 
past century, is impossible in a limited space, and, 
moreover, would require more competent hands than 
the present writer's, especially as there is no collected 
history of it, or other guide, extant. i The fact that 
the limitations of space or of my own knowledge 
permit me to mention only a few writers is no 
disparagement to others. 

Although printing-presses were of late introduc- 
tion into New Granada, 2 even the Spanish colonial 
epoch was not without some literary light. A diligent 
investigator, Jos6 Maria Vergara, painstakingly 
collated the history of the literary activities of 
colonial days in an interesting volume,3 which shows 
conclusively that the " dark ages " of the colonial 
period were not as black as they have been repre- 
sented. The great conqueror, Gonzalo Jimenez de 
jQuesada, was himself a writer, and! in the leisure 
days of his old age wrote the history of his conquests, 

1 Vergara's Historic* de la literature en Colombia is devoted 
almost exclusively to colonial times. 

9 See Jose Toribio Medina's La Imprenta en Bogota and La 
Imprenta en Cartagena (Santiago, Chile, 1904). 

3 Op. tit. 



260 COLOMBIA 

but the manuscript, although made use of by sub- 
sequent writers and so partially filtering down, to 
us, has been lost. Other chroniclers ,and historians 
there were whom Fate treated better ; of them 1 , the 
pious Bishop Piedrahita, partially of Inca descent, 
occupies the front rank. At the dawn of the revolu- 
tion a veritable literary and scientific renaissance 
took place ; Narino was the leader of a brilliant 
circle, and Zea was his m,ost accomplished associate 
and fellow-sufferer ; Caldas, the scientist, not only 
himself displayed literary ability in presenting his 
scientific investigations and setting forth know- 
ledge of the country in his periodical El Setnanario, 
but inspired numerous others. 

It is not along scientific lines, as the reader is 
already aware, that we must look for Colombia's 
best intellectual achievements, but to the fields of 
jurisprudence, of classical literature, history, and 
belles lettres* 

As elsewhere, perhaps a little more than else- 
where, the favourite theme of Colombian writers 
is their own country. In the paths of history, for 
instance, they have strayed little, and that little 
without overmuch success, into original investigation 
of other lands and epochs. But there is a brilliant 
galaxy of historians dealing with their own land. 
Especially noteworthy are Jos Manuel Restrepo 
(1782-1864), an aide-de-camp and secretary of 
Bolivar, who wrote a detailed account of the revolu- 
tion against Spain; Joaquin de Acosta (1800-52), 
who wrote a masterly and at once entertaining and 
veracious history of the discovery and conquest of 
New Granada, based on original sources, the old 
chronicles and manuscripts, with a true instinct for 
separating the grain from the chaff, the truth from 
the mass of superstitious legends and exaggerations : 
partly covering the same ground, but extending over 
the whole epoch, is Plaza's History of New Granada, 



EDUCATION 261 

with a later volume bringing the narration down to 
1830. Plaza ,( I 8o7-54) is a careful historian, but 
his style is somewhat drier than Acosta's lively narra- 
tive. Another monumental work devoted] to colonial 
times, though 1 chiefly to the history of the Church 
the author's original intention was to confine his work 
exclusively thereto is Groot's Historia eclesiastica 
y civil de la Nwva Granada. Groot (1800-78) 
lacked the fluency and grace of pen that distinguishes 
most Colombians. He was a devout Catholic, and 
his work, printing copious documentary sources, can 
therefore be read as an antidote to thjose historians 
who are inclined to attribute all Colombia's troubles, 
in both colonial and modern times, to. the dominance 
of the clergy. His defence of the Jesuits and attack 
on the brusque methods of their expulsion is classical. 

For modern times there is no one comprehensive 
historian, but there is a host of biographies, histories 
of particular events or administrations, and personal 
memoirs, written by active participants in the events 
or by close friends and followers. Of memoirs, 
the most noteworthy are Joaquin Posada Gutierrez* 
(1797-1879), written in an elegant style. What 
such works lose in scientific carefulness, absolute 
dependability, and detached breadth of view, they 
gain in literary interest, in intensity of personality, 
and corresponding vivacity and vigour of style. 

Historical investigations continue unabated. A 
valuable collection of reprints and original histories 
published at various dates in recent years and con- 
taining many works of high excellence is the 
Biblioteca de Historia National. Much of the 
material, then, for a complete history of Colombia is 
at hand, but the old bitter party traditions still live 
on to prevent an impartial summing up of the 
evidence. Events of eighty years ago are still live 
questions, answered more often by political partisans 
than unbiassed historians, 



262 COLOMBIA 

Much keen intellectual activity of the best brains 
Colombia has produced has spent itself in the barren 
fields of petty political controversy. The " scholar 
in politics " has been no novelty in Colombia. It 
has been the rule rather than the exception for the 
highest office in the land to be filled by men of 
decided literary attainments. Of Colombia's presi- 
dents, many have attained high' rank as journalists 
or authors, Mariano Ospina, Manuel Murillo Toro, 
Carlos Holguin, Rafael Nunez, philosopher, sceptic, 
and poet, Miguel Antonio Caro, Jos6 M. Marroquin, 
classicist, satirist, and novelist,, to mention only a 
few. Their pens, trenchant in politics, were also 
wielded with effect in other spheres. The most 
remarkable of all was perhaps Caro (1843-1909), 
a man who embodies the ideals of a large mass of 
Colombians, typifying in his character the best class 
of Conservative. As a statesman Caro was absolutely 
incorruptible, a veritable Cato in his patriotism and 
devotion to his principles : his public life was in 
entire harmony with his writings. His literary tastes 
were a legitimate inheritance from his father, Jos6 
Eusebio, Caro, a: distinguished poet. He was a 
profound classical scholar ; at an early age he 
published a translation of Virgil into correct and 
spirited Spanish verse, as faithful and) happy a 
rendering of that master as is to be found in any 
modern language. This gained for him at once a 
high rank in ,the world 1 of Spanish letters, and he 
was made a member of the Madrid Academy. His 
public career didl not interfere with his literary 
studies, tat it was as a critic rather than as a creator 
that he kept his foremost rank. He possessed vast 
erudition ; his knowledge of both ancient and modern 
literature was profound ; but, though he read, he 
did not sympathize with 1 , the modern writer. Science 
for him: meant exclusively the Catholic philosophy. 
Nineteenth-century ideas of revolt did not appeal 



EDUCATION 263 

to him. '-' His heart/' it has been said., " was in 
the reign of Philip the Second." 

There are several writers who might be set 
up against Caro as embodying contrasting phases 
of Colombian literary activity. Manuel Ancizar 
(1812-82), for instance, whose stout championship 
of complete liberty of thought may be forgotten, 
but whose Peregrinaciones de Alpha is destined 
to immortality in his own land. This popular 
narrative of his travels while engaged under Codazzi 
in the Corographical Survey is a model of scientific 
geographical description combined with felicity of 
phrase, revealing a true appreciation of the beauties 
of nature and a rare insight into the characters 
and customs of the people among whom hje travelled. 
But perhaps the most striking antithesis to Caro 
is his contemporary, Salvador Camacho Roldan 
((1827-1900), for the two men had many points of 
external resemblance which serV.e to accentuate the 
fundamental contrast. Camacho Roldan, like Caro, 
was a man of unimpeachable personal character, 
lovable, and a devoted and upright public servant 
in important posts, though he never wielded supreme 
power. A successful business man, he was of an 
.eminently practical turn of mind, and devoted his 
great intellectual powers chiefly to economical sub- 
jects, as a writer on which, in Coloiribia, he stands 
unrivalled in depth and soundness, save perhaps by 
Miguel Sam'per, whom he excels in the faculty which 
the Colombians share with the French of emibuing 
even dry subjects with an esprit that enlivens with- 
out destroying values. He was keenly impressed 
with Colombia's need to throw off her isolation and 
swim with the world current. Caro's only travels 
were among his books hie never left Colombia, rarely 
even Bogotd. Camacho Roldan, though no disdainer 
of the printed wordhe founded a bookstore famous 
throughout Spanish America not only knew his own 



264 COLOMBIA 

land tfell, but travelled! extensively in Europe and 
the United States. In his Notas d\e Via/e he left 
a valuable and at the same time entertaining record 
of his observations on an extended to.ur from Bogotd 
to and through the United States. 

Economical, historical, political, and even critical 
work cannot readily create a national literature in the 
sense of one fundamentally distinctive, apart from its 
subject matter, from that of other nations. Fiction, 
poetry, and the drama may. It is in these that the 
national spirit spontaneously expresses itself, rising 
from the soil up. But the Spanish American 
character in general, and the fundamental conditions 
of Spanish American life, have, until very recently, 
been far too similar in the various countries, and 
all have been intellectually too much under th same 
Spanish and French influences, to have permitted 
as yet any very wide differentiation of national 
literatures. Minor variations there are, apparent to 
a trained literary student ; but at a first glance it 
is well-nigh impossible to tell the work of a writer 
of one Spanish American nation from that of his 
confreres of another country. In this sense, then, 
Colombia has no national literature ; there is no 
fundamental stamp that at once impresses the work 
of a Colombian poet or novelist as fundamentally 
different from that of a Cuban, a Mexican, a 
Peruvian, etc. So far the drama has played no 
part in shaping Colombian thought. The dramatic 
art seems to require for its fruition a finished, not 
a transitionary, epoch of social development, and 
especially a working stagte. It is a truism that the 
dramatist of first quality must know stage technique. 
Both of these elements, a stage and an economically 
rounded civilization, are lacking in Colombia. The 
only city in the land of population enough to even 
attempt to support a permanent stage is Bogotd. 
And even Bogot4 is a small community. The 



EDUCATION 265 

hesitancy that exists to enter into frank discussion 
of subjects, the fear to offend one's neighbour that 
exists in every small community, the following of 
the lines of least resistance, do not tend 1 to devplop 
a drama that deals with modern actual problems, 
or presents great truths of character or of society. 
The few successful plays in Colombia have been 
historical plays, dealing superficially and usually ver- 
bosely with some romantic hero or gallant episode 
of the past ; a favourite theme, for instance, has 
been the life and death of Policarpa Salavarrieta, 
lovingly known as " La Pola," heroine pf the war 
for Independence. 

In fiction one Colombian novel, first published 
in 1867, has gained an international reputation and 
has been translated into several languages. 
Maria has probably received the highest tributes 
from critics and. been the most popular and widely 
read of all Spanish American books. -Wherever, 
Spanish is spoken Maria has been known, loved'y 
and wept over. Its author, Jorge Isaacs (pronounced 
Ee-saks), was born in 1837 m the Cauca, the son 
of a well-to-do planter. The father was a Jamaican 
Jew, who, at an early age, had married a Catholic 
and became converted to that religion, in which he 
brought up his children. There is little in the book 
that displays any traces at all of Jewish or English 
influence or descent ; it is typically Spanish 
American, with the exquisite prose-poetry, exuberance 
and even floweriness of style, the poignancy of a 
first love, and the tender sentiment that touches 
the heart and moistens the eye of every true son 
of the tropics. To the foreigner the chief charm 
of this novel lies in its description of tropical scenes 
and customs, and 1 especially in the delineation of the 
characteristically happy intimate home-life of rural 
Colombia. With all its sentiment and 1 pathos, its 
style of the bygone age of Paul and Virginia, of 



266 COLOMBIA 

Chateaubriand and Lamairtine, 'Maria does no? cease 
to be a novel of real life real life seen with the eyes 
of a poet. It is an idyll of the home, a narration 
of household joys and sorrows, a simple history o{ 
a pure, first -love in the bosom of the family circle, 
too pure, too tender, too reverently dreamlike to 
end aught otherwise than by the death of the angelic 
heroine . 

The popularity of Maria has been chiefly due, 
not to its significance as fiction, but to its poetic 
qualities ; for it is poetry that pulses the blood 
and expands the emotions of your Colombian. 
Musty lawyers, shrewd merchants, weather-beaten 
farmers can recite you verse by the hour. There 
is a veritable cult of poetry in Colombia. The 
highest honours are showered upon the poet, and, 
more significant, he is read and, even more, listened 
soan evening's recital by one of the popular poets 
of the day will invariably attract a large audience. 
Much poetry is writtenmuch that is good, little 
that is positively bad, though of a sameness that is 
more wearisome than positive fault the eternal 
symbols of love and adoration done to death. 

No striking genius has been produced, but dozens 
of poets of talent have enriched Spanish literature, 
so many that it is difficult to single a few for mention. 
Jos6 Fernandez Madrid (1780-1829), during the war 
for Independence, must have inspired by his pas- 
sionate appeals for liberty m!any a brave deed and 
spurred on discouraged leaders : Jos6 Eusebio Caro 
(1817-53), jGutierrez Gonzalez .(1826-7,2), J. J. Ortiz 
(1814-92), Joaquin Pablo Posada (1825-80), 
are honoured names. Julio Arboleda (1817-62), of 
a patrician family, is perhaps the best known of 
Colombian poets. Rarely have they attempted poems 
of a large canvass ; short verses breathing love or 
gallantry, patriotism or admiration for the beauties 
of the Andes and 1 the plains, or witty jeux d'esprits. 



EDUCATION 267 

sharp epigrams, and satires have been the favoured 
style. But Arboleda wrote a heroic epic of the 
Spanish conquest, Gonzalo d t e Oyon, unfortunately 
left uncompleted, for this delicate wielder of the 
pen was a cruel soldier in his country's fratricidal 
strifes, and met death at the hands of an assassin, 
whose father, so said Arboleda's foes, he had put 
to death. 

Of a somewhat later generation two poets stood 
out pre-eminently, Diego Fallon (1834-1905) and 
Rafael Pombo (1833-1912). Fallon, whose 
literary output was scanty but of a singularly 
polished yet inspired dontent, like Gray, taking 
infinite pains over his few verses, and like 
Coleridge, spending himself in brilliant conversa- 
tion ; Pombo, whom the Argentine litterateur, Can, 
has styled " one of the greatest poets who has 
written in Spanish/' Can6. narrates an amusing; 
anecdote that occurred in a 1 literary salon in New 
York, presided over by a distinguished Argentine 
lady, to whom Pombo was presented. The lady 
asked Pombo who was the anonymous poetess, the 
famous Edda the Bogotana, whose verses, imbued 
with such a profound and absorbing passion, recalled 
the inimitable accents of Sappho crying body and 
soul for the man of her dreams and desires. 

" Do you really find these verses worth reading? " 
asked Pom!bo, 

" tWorth reading 1 Verses vibrating) with the 
deepest passions of a woman's soul, verses so essen- 
tially feminine, verses, too, exhaling the mysticism, 
the adoration of a Santa Teresa 1 Dh ! you men, 
who among you could write such verses? " 

" Well," said Pombo, " Edda is now in New 
York, and if you want to make her acquaintance " 

" Speak, man 1 " cried his hostess impetuously ; 
"* where does she live? what's her name? I'll see 
her to-morrow ; I will cover her witW kisses I " 



268 COLOMBIA 

" Then begin, sefiora," said tfte ugly little Pombo ; 
" I I am Edda." 

These men are dead, but the aspirants for their 
commanding place are enrolled by the score and 
the hundred. The torrents and rivers of Colombian 
verse flow unceasingly, with a facility of language 
and of rhyme and a technical correctness that is 
appalling. Even men close to the soil, men of the 
plains and the hills, without education, without access 
to books, have sung songs of no mean merit, their 
names unknown while their songs endure. Of the 
poets now living, it would be invidious to make any 
comment ; the mere mention of a few names may 
be not without interest to a stray reader who might 
want to read! deeper.. Julio Florez, Guillermo 
Valencia, Max. Grillo, Alirio Diaz Guerra, Roberto 
McDouall, L'eon, Gotn;ez, Arciniegas, Restrepo, Rivas 
Groot are amiongi a few of the more popular present- 
day poets who have graced Colombian literature. 

I trust I have said enough to indicate that in 1 this 
remote corner of the earth, in this country whose 
literate population is less than half a million, though 
no literary genius of the very first rank has arisen, 
men of talent and of inspiration have been many, 
that this soil of literary, traditions holds latent possi- 
bilities and 1 promises of the richest intellectual 
harvest. No one who has come into contact, either 
personally or through the medium of their books, 
with the cultured race of Colombians can escape the 
feeling that they possess inherent qualities of a high 
order to enrich the world. Let Colombia once swing 
fully into line in the march of the nations, let the 
portals of progress be opened wide to her, there 
iwili come a renaissance of the spirit, and geniuses 
may well bloom to confer a priceless heritage upon 
humanity. 

At present, however, old traditions, old allegiances 



EDUCATION 269 

are too powerful to make the full expression of 
thought attractive. In contact with thQ Colombian 
mind, even when it is in apparent revolt, one is 
conscious of coming face to face again and again 
with barred doors, behind which lurk the ghosts of 
the past, barriers which no one seeks to open for 
fear of offending friends, relatives, spiritual advisers, 
business associates, for fear of arousing popular 
antagonism, for fear of social ostracism, for fear, 
in short, of all those countless impediments to a 
full and free self-expression which, though to a 
lesser degree than in this small community, are still 
encountered even in the most advanced and pro- 
gressive societies. And the stifling] or discourage- 
ment of thought in one directionhow irreparable 
the damage, in what countless and unforeseen ways 
does it diminish man's intellectual achievements along 
lines ever so remotely distant. 

Personal contact with educated foreigners is one 
quick medium of disseminating the latest advances 
in knowledge, and stimulating interchange of ideas 
and expression of thought. As the number of 
Colombians who can gain education abroad is neces- 
sarily limited, there is a useful field of social service 
open to foreigners in Colombia, not only to those 
who possess capital and can wield modern business 
methods, but especially to those trained in the theo- 
retical and applied sciences, who by example or direct 
teaching could raise the general standards of living in 
Colombia and help lift the country to the foremost 
plane. The experience of other Spanish American 
nations shows that nothing is to be feared from an 
influx of foreigners ; the natives, prospering! as the 
nation prospers with the advent of outside capital 
and blood, retain their ascendancy. The Colombian 
Government is well aware of the scholastic need 
of foreigners, and from time to time teachjers and' 
professors are imported from Europe ; but it canuot 



270 COLOMBIA 

be expected that men of the highest calibre will be 
attracted as long as the salaries offered are low 
and such clauses are inserted in the contracts as 
" (The Professor) agrees to totally abstain from 
all conversation or discussion in regard to questions 
of a political or religious character." Undeniably, 
a foreigner's first duty is to refrain from participa- 
tion in politics or in religious controversies, as long 
as religion is an element in the political situation, 
but it would be somewhat galling to a man of 
spirit to have such an express proviso thrust into 
his contract of employment. 

But once let Colombia's best minds cease to be 
unduly engrossed by the petty strife of partisan 
politics, let her people come into harmony with the 
latest scientific developments, let her keen intellects 
learn to think world thoughts and soar on the wings 
of complete freedom, and no one need be astonished 
if this cradle of learning produces a race of intel- 
lectual giants. The raw material is there. 



APPENDIX I 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF COLOMBIA" 
ADOPTED BY LEGISLATIVE ACT NUMBER 3 OF 1910 
(OCTOBER 31ST) 

TITLE I 

ART, i. The boundaries of the Republic with the neighbouring Art. 6 ?, n 
nations are as follows : with Venezuela, those established by the 
arbitral award of the King of Spain ; with Costa Rica, those pre- 
scribed by the arbitral award of the President of the French 
Republic ; with Brazil, those determined by the Treaty made with 
that Republic, in so far as therein delimited, and for the remaining 
part, the boundaries in 1810 between , the Viceroyalty of New 
Granada and the Portuguese possessions ; with the Republic of 
Ecuador, provisionally, those established in the Colombian law of 
June 25, 1824; and with Peru, those adopted in the Mosquera- 
Pedemonte protocol, in furtherance of the Treaty of September 22, 
1829. 

The lines separating the Republic from the contiguous nations 
can only be changed by virtue of public treaties duly approved by 
both Houses of the Legislature. 

ART. 2, The national territory shall be divided into Departments, 
and the Departments into Municipalities or Municipal Districts. 

The laws may decree the formation of new Departments, dis- 
membering the present ones, when demanded by three-fourths of 
the Municipal Councillors of the region that is to form the new 
Department, and provided the following conditions be complied 
with : 

(1) That the new Department have at least 250,000 inhabitants 
and an annual income of $250,000. 

(2) That the Department or each of the Departments from which 
it is to be separated be left with at least a population of 250,000 in- 
habitants, and with an annual income not less than $250,000 ; and 

(3) That the law decreeing the creation of the new Department be 
approved by two successive annual Legislatures, 

* See note to page 58. 
an 



272 



APPENDIX I 



A law approved in the ordinary form shall be sufficient for the 
abolition of any Department created subsequent to the present 
Legislative Act, provided that during debate it be proven that the 
entity to be abolished lacks any of the foregoing conditions. 

The laws may separate municipalities from one Department or 
abolish territories (intendendas) and annex them to one or more 
adjoining Departments, 



Amending 
Arts. 29 and 
So- 
Amending 
Art. 31. 



Amending 
Art. 32. 



TITLE m 

ART. 3, The Legislature snail in no case prescribe the penalty of 
capital punishment, 

ART. 4, No law establishing a monopoly can be enforced until 
the persons who are thereby deprived of the exercise of a lawful 
occupation shall have been fully idemnificd. 

No monopoly shall be established except as a means of revenue 
and by virtue of a law. 

Special privileges may be granted only in connection with useful 
inventions and means of communication. 

ART, 5, In time of peace no one shall be deprived of his pro- 
perty or any part thereof except as a punishment or by judicial 
compulsion, or indemnity, or by a general tax, in accordance with 
the laws. For grave causes of public utility, defined by the Legisla- 
ture, there may be compulsory alienation of private property under 
judicial mandate ; the value of the property shall be paid before the 
expropriation is carried out. 

ART. 6. In time of peace, only the Congress, the Departmental 
Assemblies, and the Municipal Councils may levy taxes, 

ART. 7. New emissions of paper money of compulsory circula- 
tion are absolutely prohibited 



Amending 
Arts. 68 and 
7*. 



Amending 
Art 74. 



TITLE VI 

ART. 8. The Legislative Chambers shall convene of their own 
right each year on the aoth of July in the capital of the Republic, 
If, for any cause whatsoever, they cannot do so on such date, they 
shall convene as soon as possible within the year* 

The sessions of the Congress shall last ninety days, and may be 
extended for thirty days more, if a two-thirds vote of each of the 
two Houses shall so provide. 

The Congress may also meet when convoked by the Government, 
and it shall then treat in the first place of the matters submitted to 
it for consideration by the Government, In such case it shall 
remain in session for such time as the Government shrill determine. 

ART. 9. The Congress shall meet as one body solely to install 
the President in his office and to elect Designates. 



APPENDIX I 273 

In such cases the Presidents of the Senate and of the Chamber, 
respectively, shall be President and Vice- President of the Congress, 

ART. 9. The Congress shall annually elect two Designates, a first 
and a second, who shall exercise the Executive Power in that order 
in case of a vacancy in the Presidency. 

TITLE Yin 

ART. ii. The Senate shall be composed of as many members as Amending 
correspond to the population of the Republic in the ratio of one for Art 93 ' 
each 120,000 inhabitants, and one additional for any fraction thereof 
not less than 50,000, Two substitutes shall be elected for each 
Senator. 

ART. 12. The Senators shall be elected by Electoral Councils. 

ART, 13. It is the function of the Departmental Assemblies to 
elect the members of the Electoral Councils in the proportion of 
one for each 30,000 inhabitants of the respective Department. 

ART, 14. The national territory shall be divided by law into 
Senatorial circumscriptions of one or more Departments, in such 
wise that there may be minority representation. 

ART. 15. Persons forming part of the respective Electoral 
Council may not be elected Senators. 

ART. 16. The term of office of Senators shall be four years, Amending 
They are re-eligible indefinitely. ArL 9S 

ART. 17. It is a function of the Senate, in addition to those Amending 
attributed to it by Article 98 of the Constitution, to elect four 
magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice and their substi- 
tutes from ternal nominations presented by the President of the 
Republic. 

TITLE IX 

ART. 18. The Chamber of Representatives shall be composed of Amending 
as many persons as correspond to the population of the Republic, Alt " 
in the ratio of one for each 50,000 inhabitants. 

Two substitutes shall be elected for each Representative. 

ART. 19. The term of office of the Representatives shall be two Amending 
years, and they shall be re-eligible indefinitely. Artt 10L 

ART. 20. The Chamber of Representatives has the following 
powers : 

(1) To examine and definitively close the general account of the 
Treasury ; 

(2) To initiate legislation for the levying of taxes or organizing 
the Public Ministry (Attorney-General's office) ; 

(3) To elect five magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice and 
their substitutes from ternal nominations presented by the President 
of the Republic. 

19 



274 APPENDIX I 

(4) To impeach before the Senate, whenever there may be just 
cause, the President of the Republic, the Ministers of the Cabinet, 
the Attorney-General of the Nation, and the Magistrates of the 
Supreme Court of Justice ; and 

(5) To take cognizance of charges and complaints presented to 
it by the Attorney-General of the Nation or by private persons 
against any of the aforesaid officers, and to base thereon, if found 
meritorious, impeachments for trial by the Senate. 



TITLE X 

ART. 21. No member of the Congress may be arrested or sued 
civilly or criminally without the permission of the Chamber of 
which he is a member, during the sessions of Congress or forty 
days before or twenty days thereafter. In case of flagrante delicti, 
the delinquent may be detained, and shall be placed forthwith at 
the disposal of the respective Chamber. 

ART< 22> The ^sident of the Republic, the Cabinet Ministers, 
the Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Attorney- 
General of the Nation and the Governors may not be elected 
members of Congress until three months after they have ceased 
to perform the duties of their respective offices. 

Neither may any one be Senator or Representative for a Depart- 
ment or electoral circumscription wherein within three months 
prior to the elections he has exercised civil, political, or military 
jurisdiction. 

ART> 23< T ke Pres i dent * ^ e Republic may not confer office 
upon Senators or Representatives who have been in the performance 
of their duties during their term of office, except that this pro- 
hibition shall not apply to the offices of Cabinet Minister, 
Governor, Diplomatic representative, or Military Chief in time of 
war. 

Violation of this rule renders the nomination null and void. 

Acceptance of any of these [permitted] offices by a member of 
Congress causes an absolute vacancy [of his seat] in the respective 
Chamber, except that acceptance of the office of Cabinet Minister 
produces only a temporary vacancy during the time while he dis- 
charges such office. 

^ RT * 24 ' Ia case * vacancv > e fth er temporary or absolute, 
in the seat of a member of Congress, the respective substitute 
shall act in his stead. 

TITLE XI 

ART. 25. The President of the Republic shall be elected by the 
direct votes of the citizens having the right to vote for Represen- 



APPENDIX I 275 

tatives, and for a term of four years, in the manner prescribed by 
law. The voting shall be on a single day. 

ART. 26. In case of a temporary vacancy in the Presidency Amending 
of the Republic or in case of an absolute vacancy pending a new ^125! 
election, the first or second Designate, elected annually by the 
Congress, shall exercise in order the Executive Power, 

If for any cause whatsoever Congress shall not have elected 
Designates, those last elected shall continue as such, In default of 
Designates, the Ministers shall enter upon the duties of the 
Executive office in the order prescribed by law, and in default 
of Ministers, the Governors, the order of succession among whom 
shall be according to the proximity of their residences to the 
capital of the Republic [the nearest one succeeding]. 

Absolute vacancies in the Presidency are caused by : 

Death, accepted resignation, dismissal after sentence passed, 
permanent physical incapacity and abandonment of office. The 
last two shall be declared by the Senate. 

ART. 27. In case of absolute vacancies in the Presidency, the Amending 
successor in charge of the Executive Power shall convoke elections JjJ^ 4 
for a date within sixty days after the vacancy. 

But when the unexpired period of the term is one year or less, 
the successor in charge of the Executive Power shall continue in 
the performance of his duties, without convoking new elections. 

ART. 28. The President of the Republic is in no event re- Amending 
eligible for the next succeeding term. Art - I2S - 

No citizen who, under any title whatsoever, may have performed 
the functions of the Executive Power within the year immediately 
preceding the election, may be elected President of the Republic 
or Designate. 

ART, 29. The President of the Republic, or whosoever acts Amending 
in his stead, shall be responsible for acts and omissions that violate *& *** 
the Constitution and the laws. 

ART, 30. No act of the President, except the appointment and idem, 
removal of Ministers, shall be valid or have any effect whatsoever 
unless it is countersigned and promulgated by the Minister to 
whose department it refers, who shall be responsible by virtue of 
such action. 

ART. 31. The President of the Republic, during the term for 
which he is elected, and whosoever is in charge of the Executive 
Power during his incumbency, may not be prosecuted or tried 
for crimes, except by virtue of an impeachment by the Chamber of 
Representatives and after the Senate shall have declared that there 
is ground for such prosecutioa 

ART. 32. The President of the Republic, or whosoever acts in the 
stead, may not during his incumbency of office or within one year 
thereafter leave national soil without the permission of the Senate. 



276 APPENDIX I 

Violation of this provision, during incumbency of office, implies an 
abandonment of office, 

ART. 33. In case of foreign war or civil disturbance the Presi- 
dent, with the signature of all the Ministers, may declare public 
*"* order disturbed and the Republic or any part thereof to be in 
a state of siege* By such declaration the Government, in addition 
to the powers conferred by the laws, shall have such powers as 
govern war between nations pursuant to the accepted rules of 
International Law. 

Decrees, within the scope of the aforesaid powers, issued by the 
President shall be binding and obligatory, provided they are 
signed by all the Ministers. 

The Government may not repeal laws by means of such decrees, 
Its powers are limited to the suspension of laws which are incom- 
patible with a state of siege. 

The Government shall declare public order re-established as 
soon as the foreign war shall have ceased or the uprising shall 
have, been suppressed ; and decrees of extraordinary character 
that it may have issued shall cease to be in force. 

The President and Ministers shall be responsible if they declare 
public order disturbed when in fact the event of foreign war or 
civil disturbance has not occurred; and they, as also all other 
officers, shall likewise be responsible for any abuse committed in 
the exercise of the powers granted by this Article. 

Upon the re-establishment of public order, the Government 
shall convene the Congress and shall submit a statement of its acts 
and the reasons therefor to that body. 

In case of foreign war, the Government in the same decree 
whereby it declares public order to be disturbed and the Republic 
to be in a state of siege, shall convene the Congress to meet within 
sixty days thereafter ; and if it does not so convene the Congress, 
that body may meet of its own right 

Amending ART * 34* ^ is a function ojf tii e President of the Republic, as 

Art. 120, the supreme administrative authority, to direct diplomatic and 

par * Ia commercial relations with other Powers and sovereigns ; to appoint 

diplomatic representatives and receive foreign representatives, and 

to negotiate treaties and conventions with foreign Powers, which 

shall be submitted to the Congress for approval. 

TITLE *7 

Amending ART * 35" Tlie Su P reme ^ ourt * Justice shall be composed of 

Art 146. nine magistrates. It shall 'be divided by law into parts, and to 

each part shall be assigned the matters whereof it shall separately 

take cognizance, and the matters wherein the whole Court shall 

intervene shall likewise be determined. 



APPENDIX I 277 

ART, 36. The term of office of magistrates of the Supreme Court Amending 
shall be five years, and that of the magistrates of the Superior Artl #- 
Courts shall be four years, Both may be re-elected indefinitely. 

ART, 37. The President of the Supreme Court shall be elected Amending 
each year by the court itself. Artl4 *' 

ART. 38. The magistrates of the Superior Courts and the respec- 
tive substitutes shall be appointed by the Supreme Court from 
ternal nominations made by the respective Departmental Assemblies. 

ART. 39. The Government shall appoint magistrates pro tempore 
to the Supreme Court of Justice and the respective Governors shall 
appoint judges pro tempore to the Superior Courts, when the 
vacancies in the office of the principals cannot be filled by the 
substitutes. 

ART. 40. In every case of incompatibility between the Constitu- 
tion and the laws, the constitutional provisions shalt be preferred 
and enforced. 

ART, 41. To the Supreme Court of Justice is confided the Amending 
guardianship of the integrity of the Constitution. Consequently, Jj JJ r 
it shall have the following powers, in addition to those conferred 
upon it by the Constitution and the laws : 

To decide definitively as to the enforceability of Legislative Acts 
which the Government has objected to as unconstitutional and 
of all laws and decrees attacked before it by any citizen as 
unconstitutional, the Attorney-General of the Nation being heard 
thereon. 

ART. 42. The laws shall provide for contentious administrative 
proceedings. 

TITLE XVII 

ART. 43. The entire citizenship by direct vote shaA elect Amending 
Municipal Councillors and Deputies to the Departmental Artl?3 * 
Assemblies. 

ART. 44. Citizens able to read and write or who have an annual Amending 
income of three hundred pesos or real estate of the value of a Alt I7S * 
thousand pesos, shall elect the President of the Republic and 
Representatives by direct vote. 

ART, 45. In every election wherein two or more individuals are 
voted for, the election shall be by the system of incomplete voting 
or electoral quotient or cumulative voting or any other whatsoever 
that assures proportional representation of parties, The manner of 
making this right effective shall be determined by law. 

ART. 46. The laws shall apportion and delimit electoral districts Amending 
for the election of Representatives, and the Departmental Assem- 
blies shall apportion and delimit electoral districts for the election 
of Deputies, if the electoral system that is adopted requires the 



278 APPENDIX I 

formation of electoral districts. In such case, no electoral district 
may elect less than three Representatives or Deputies. 

TITLE XVHI 

ART. 47. The territory of the Republic is divided for adminis- 
trative purposes into Departments. Each Department shall be ruled 
by a Governor who shall be both the representative of the Executive 
Power and the chief of the local (sectional) administration. 

ART. 48. Under the limitations established by the Constitution, 
the Departments shall be independent in the administration of 
local matters. 

ART. 49. The Departments are divided into Municipal Districts. 
For better administration, provincial or other divisions may be 
established. 

ART. 50. The property and revenues of the Departments and 
of the Municipalities are their own exclusive property, respectively, 
and enjoy the same guarantees as the property and revenues of 
private persons. Such property cannot be taken except under the 
same conditions as private property. The National Government 
may not grant exemption from departmental or municipal taxes. 

ART. 51, The property, rights, securities, and shares which 
belonged to the extinct Sovereign States either by laws or 
by decrees of the National Government or under any other title 
whatsoever, shall continue to be owned by the respective Depart- 
ments ; except the immovables specified in Article 202 of the 
Constitution. 

ART. 52. In each Department there shall be an administrative 
corporation called the Departmental Assembly, which shall meet 
annually in the capital of the Department. 

ART. 53. The Departmental Assemblies shall be elected by 
popular vote and shall be composed of deputies corresponding 
in number to the population of the Departments in the ratio of 
one for each 12,000 inhabitants and one for each fraction thereof 
greater than 6,000. This electoral basis may be changed by law 
and the time and duration of sessions shall be fixed by law. 

ART. 54. The Assemblies are invested with the power : 

(1) To regulate, by ordinance and in accordance with consti- 
tutional precepts, primary and secondary educational institutions 
and benevolent institutions, supported with departmental funds ; 

(2) To direct and encourage by ordinance and with departmental 
resources industries already established and the introduction of 

,new ones, the importation of foreign capital, the colonization of 
lands belonging to the Department, the opening of roads and 
navigable canals, the construction of railways, the utilization of 



APPENDIX I 279 

forests belonging to the Department, the improvement of river 
channels, matters concerning the local police, the supervision of the 
revenues and expenditures of the districts, and generally all matters 
belonging to the local interests and internal advancement ; 

(3) To organize departmental accounting offices or tribunals of 
accounts, appoint the corresponding comptrollers or magistrates, 
and to present the ternal lists of nominations for the District 
Attorneys (fiscales) in the Superior Courts and tribunals and for 
the respective substitutes; 

(4) To create and abolish municipalities pursuant to the basis of 
population prescribed by law, and to separate or annex municipal 
aggregations, consulting local interests. If any such annexations or 
separation be complained of by any resident whose interests are 
involved, the final ^determination of the matter shall be by the 
Congress ; 

(5) To create and abolish Notarial and Registry Circuits and to 
determine the number of departmental employees, their duties and 
salaries ; and 

(6) To exercise the other functions attributed to them by the 
Constitution and the laws. 

ART. 55. The Assemblies shall annually vote the Budget of 
Revenues and Expenditures of the respective Department. 

ART. 56. In order to meet the necessary expenses of administra- 
tion, the Departmental Assemblies may impose taxes under the con- 
ditions and within the limitations prescribed by law. 

ART. 57. The ordinances passed by the Departmental Assemblies 
are binding as long as they are not annulled by the judiciary in the 
manner prescribed by law. 

ART. 58. Private persons aggrieved by acts of the Assemblies 
may resort to the competent court, which, by speedy proceedings, 
in case of grave injury, may suspend the act complained of. 

ART. 59. The Governor is vested with the following powers : 

(1) To comply with the orders of the Government and cause the 
same to be complied with within the Department ; 

(2) To direct administrative action in the Department, appointing 
and removing his agents and amending or revoking their acts, and 
dictating the provisions necessary in all branches of the adminis- 
tration ; 

(3) To be the organ of the Department and represent it in 
political and administrative matters ; 

(4) To assist the administration of justice as prescribed by law ; 

(5) To exercise the right of supervision and protection over 
official corporations and public institutions ; 

(6) To approve in legal form the ordinances enacted by the 
Departmental Assemblies ; 



280 APPENDIX I 

(7) To revise the acts of the municipalities and mayors (alcaldes) 
on the ground of unconstitutionally or illegality, to revoke those of 
the alcaldes and to remit those of the municipalities to the judiciary 
for decision as to their enf orceability ; 

(8) And such other functions as may by law belong to him. 

ART. 60. The Governor may call upon the armed force for aid 
and the military chief shall obey his orders, saving special provisions 
issued by the Government. 

ART. 61. In each Municipal District there shall be a corporation 
elected by popular vote, which shall be designated by the name of 
Municipal Council. 

ART. 62. It is the function of the Municipal Councils, by means 
of local resolutions or regulations, to provide for the due adminis- 
tration of the district ; to vote local taxes and expenditures, in con- 
formity with the Constitution, the laws, and the ordinances passed 
by the Assemblies ; to take a civil census when prescribed by law ; 
to appoint municipal judges, attorneys, and treasurers, and to exer- 
cise the other functions that may be assigned to them. 

ART. 63. The resolutions of the Municipal Councils are binding 
as long as they have not been annulled by the judiciary. 

ART. 64. Private persons aggrieved by acts of the Municipal 
Councils may resort to the judge, who shall, by speedy proceedings, 
suspend on the ground of unconstitutionality or illegality the act 
complained of. 

ART. 65. In every municipality there shall be an alcalde, who 
shall exercise the functions of agent of the Governor and who shall 
be the chief of the municipal administration. 



TITLE XIX 

Amending ART. 66. The Executive Power shall annually make up the 
2o6 ' Budget of Revenues and Expenditures and submit the same to the 
Congress during the first ten days of its annual session. 

ART. 67. In time of peace no tax or impost may be established 
which does not figure in the Budget of Revenues, nor may any 
payment be made from the Treasury which is not included in the 
Budget of Expenditures. 

Amending ART. 68. The Executive Power may not open the supplemental 
ArL *** and extraordinary credits treated of in Article 208 of the Constitu- 
tion, nor make transfers of accounts in the Budget, except under 
the conditions and with the proceedings established by law. 

ART ' fy No indirect tax or increase of an impost of this kind 
shall begin to be collected until six months after the promulgation 
of the law establishing the tax or increase. 



APPENDIX I 281 



TITLE XX 

ART, 70, The Constitution may be amended only by a Legisla- 
tive Act first discussed and approved by the Congress in the usual 
manner, and in like manner considered at the next succeeding 
annual session and thereat approved, by both Chambers, after 
second and third hearings, by an absolute majority of the whole 
membership of each of the Chambers. 



2X1 
TEMPORARY PROVISIONS 

ART. A, The inaugural dates of the next terms of the corpora- 
tions and officers treated of in the Constitution and in the present 
Amendatory Act shall be as follows ; 

That of the National Congress, July 20, 1911. 

That of the President of the Republic, August 7, 1914, 

That of the Departmental Assemblies, March i, 1911. 

That of the Supreme Court of Justice, May i, 1915. The present 
Assembly shall elect the two magistrates to complete the number 
-of nine, prescribed by this Act, and the term of all shall expire 
April 30, 1915. 

That of the Superior Courts, May i, 1911. 

ART. B, The crimes punished by the death penalty in the Penal 
Code shall hereafter, and until otherwise provided by law, be 
punished by twenty years of hard labour in the penitentiary, 

ART, C. Until the Congress and the Assemblies shall have passed 
the corresponding laws and ordinances, the Government shall make 
the necessary provisions in the matter of territorial electoral 
divisions. 

ART. D, Article 180 of the Constitution, establishing judges of Repealing 
election returns, is hereby repealed. ^ I8o> 

ART. E. Provisions of the National Constitution of August 5, Jk^jjjjL 
1886, that are contrary to this Legislative Act, and all Legislative clause. 
Acts issued by the National Assembly prior to the present Act, are 
hereby repealed. 

ART. F. Until the next Congress meets, in accordance with the 
present Act amendatory of the Constitution, the present National 
Assembly shall continue in the performance of its duties, in case the 
'Government deem it necessary to convoke it. 

ART. G. The present Legislative Act shall go into effect, in so 
far as concerns the high National Powers, on its approval, and for 
the nation at large, thirty days after publication in the Diario 
Oficial. 



APPENDIX II 

ABORIGINAL LINGUISTIC STOCKS OF COLOMBIA 

THE following extracts, translated from P. Rivet's Les families tin- 
guistiques du Nord-ouest de I'Amerigue du Sud (L'Annte linguistique, 
tome iv., 1908-10, Paris, Klincksieck, 1912, pp, 117-54), will give an 
idea of the Indian languages found in Colombia and of the most 
approved recent classification of them : 

In the north-west portion of South America, that is to say, in the 
region bounded on the north by the frontier of Nicaragua and Costa 
Rica, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Ecuador- 
Peru boundary and the Amazon, and on the east by an imaginary 
line corresponding more or less to longitude 75 West from Paris 
- . . there are eleven special linguistic families, viz, : 

I. The Chibcha family, 
II. The Choc6 family. 

III. The Andaqui family. 

IV. The Mocoa family. 
V. The Guahibo family. 

VI. The Esmeraldas family. 
VII. The Canari family. 
VIII. The Zaparo family. 
IX. The Arda family. 
X. The Jibaro family. 
XI. The Cahuapana family. 

In addition, one finds representatives of five great South Americaa 
linguistic groups, viz. : 

A. The Uitoto group, 

B. The Tuldno group. 

C. The Carib group. 

D. The Arawak group. 

E. The Tupi-Guarani group* 

382 



APPENDIX II 283 

I. The CHIBCHA FAMILY group is, at the present time, one of the 
most important in South America. To the north, it extends to the 
frontier of Costa Rica and Nicaragua ... to the west, it reaches to 
the Pacific coast, except in the region occupied by the Chocos ; to 
the east it is bounded by the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, but 
not exactly, for the Betoi of the Casanare River, wrongly included 
by Brinton in the Betoya group, speak in reality a Chibcha dialect. 
To the south, by absorption of the Coconuco, Paniquita, and Barbacoa 
families, the group sees its domain extend southwards to the latitude 
of Guayaquil, with the Western Cordillera as its eastern boundary, 
and as its western border, a line running from the mouth of the 
Santiago to the estuary of the Guayas. . . . 

In resume, according to the affinities of the divers dialects of 
this group I believe one can propose the following classification : 

1. Talamanque-Barbacoa Tongues. Gu&tuso, Cuna, Brunca, 
Cabecar, Tiribi, Terraba, Bribri, Chiripo, Giietare, Colorado, 
Cayapa, Cuaiquer, Cara. 

2. Paez-Coconuco Tongues. Totoro, Moguex, Paniquita, Paez, 
Coconuco, Guanaco. 

3. Chibcha-Aruak Tongues. Chibcha, Duit, Betoi, Bintukua, 
Guamaka, Atanques, Koggaba, Sinsiga or Tunebo. 

4. Dorasque-Guaymi Tongues. Murire, Muoi, Sabanero, Valiente, 
Norteno, Penonorneno, Chimila, Chumulu, Gualaca, Changuina, 
Rama, 

II. The CHOCOS inhabit the basin of the Atrato River and the 
coast of the Pacific between the eighth and fourth degrees of latitude 
North. The documents which we possess on their language and 
their divers dialects are abundant and in general excellent ; unfor- 
tunately, they have not hitherto been used for an ensemble study or 
for a deep research into the affinities of this tongue, which should be 
considered as forming an independent group. Nothing, in effect, 
up to now justifies speaking of a Cuna-Choco family as do some 
authors. 



III. The ANDAQUJS inhabit the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia 
towards the source of the River Fragua between i and 2 latitude 
North. The only document which we possess as to their language 
is a small vocabulary gathered by Albis, but it is in an American 
review so rare as to be lost for the majority of linguists. That is 
why I deem it not useless to reproduce it (Appendix I). 1 

IV. The MOCOAS live alongside of the Andaquis on the affluents- 
of the upper Caquetd and the sources of the Putumayo : their 



< Not translated. 



284 APPENDIX II 

language is only known to us x by a list of four words belonging 
to the Sebondoy dialect, published by Ernst (Zeitschrift filr Ethno- 
logic, vol. xxiii., 1891, at p. 13), Of these four words, one is clearly 
borrowed from the Spanish : mazize, maize ; but the other three seem 
to me to belong to the Chibcha group, as one can judge by the 
following comparisons : 

Heart, viko : puyquy (Chibcha), yua-bika (Bintukua), dua-bika=r 
liver (Atanques), puenko = soul (Colorado), (bor)-bugwa = 
stomach (Terraba), biguin = veins (Guaymi norteno), bukoa 
(idem), bugu (Dorasque), hokoa = liver (Dorasque), huik = 
soul (Borucd), iktian = liver (Guatuso), ixtto fid = lung (Rio 
Lari), jije-ikuei = stomach (Koggaba), ik6ldre = intestines 
(Guatuso), meeki = liver (Paez), an-iguent == blood (Mogeux), 
iki = breast (Paez), ika = breast (Brunca), kueki (Cuna). 
Meat, tmnchina * : Muysc-chimy = human meat (Chibcha), ishena- 
wa, shinawa = corpse (Cabecar), shin-mo = corpse (Tiribi), 
uichana = a dead man (Bintukua), chana (Cuna). 
Head, visds : a-pisu, a-fiso = hair (Colorado), ibsa = hair (Chibcha), 

tona iza, ma iza = hair (Guatuso). 

In spite of the clearness of these lexicographical concordances, I 
deem it prudent, in view of the small number of words on which it 
rests, to maintain the Mocoa group as independent until new 
elements for study have been published. 

V. In the GUAHIBO linguistic family, I think one can group, on 
the one hand, the Guahibo, strictly so-called, and on the other, the 
Churoya, hitherto considered as an independent language. The 
affinity between these two tongues, already glimpsed by Ernst (op. 
cit., p. n), springs from the following lexicographic similarities : 

Churoya. Guahibo. 

banana parasa palatana 

cat misi mizi 

chicha kusuira kuira 

water menera mera 

woman piavichi pihaua 

1 M. Rivet does not seem to have been aware of the book by 
Rocha, Memorandum de Viaje; Regiones Amazonicas (Bogota, 1905), 
the appendix of which (pp. 195-206) contains vocabularies of various 
tongues of the Caqueta and Putumayo tribes, viz,, the Cache of 
Sebondoy (a Mocoa dialect ?), the Inga of the upper Caqueta (a 
Quichua dialect), the Ceona, Coreguaje, Carijona, and Hiutoto or 
Uitoto. (P. J. E.) 

9 This comparison between meat, human meat, corpse, seems to 
me legitimate because of the fact that the Mocoas were cannibals 
<cf. T. C. Mosquera, Memoir on the Physical and Political Geography 
Grenada, New York, 1853, p. 42). 



APPENDIX II 285 

Churoya. Guahibo. 

fire hijit, ijito izoto, isoto 

arrow funait bumaito = point, sharp, 

thorn 

man pevi pebi 

I ya-gue ja-ne, hano 

tnoon juimit, mdometa uameto, oamito 

maize jesa getza, hetza, gedza 

manioc ke-baji bagua 

honey manna bana 

night merabi merrabi, merravi 

skin begt bocoto = bark 

sun guameto wameto 

tobacCo joo ho 

earth asa atsa = clay 

tiger neguete neguti, newuiti, nebute 

one kai matakavi kahene, kaene, kaijaua ; 

matakavi = day 

four penasalavi buba penaya autsiva 

five kaikabebaje kahecobe, kaikobe 

six kaikakubaje kaekobeta 

Of fifty Churoya words that are known to-day, twenty-four have, 
as one sees by the preceding comparisons, a root common to 
corresponding Guahibo words. Let me add that seven other words 
are borrowed from divers languages of the Orinoco and one from 
Quichua. I therefore think myself justified in considering Churoya 
as a dialect of Guahibo. 

Thus extended, the Guahibo family occupies all the territory com- 
prised between the Orinoco, the Meta, and the Vichada. 

The Guahibo group ends the list of special linguistic groups, 
known at the present time, that belong to Colombia. We will now 
pass in review in the same fashion the special groups belonging 
exclusively to Ecuador. 

I have still to speak of the tribes which speak dialects belonging 
to families that are represented also in other regions of South 
America. As I said at the beginning, these tribes come from five 
great groups : the Uit6to, the Carib, the Tupi-Guarani, the Arawak, 
and the Tukano groups. 

A. The UITOTO group is represented by the small enclave of the 
Oregones in the Peba territory on the Ambiyacu River. [The author 
criticizes Sir Clements Markham's classification of a list of the tribes 
of the Valley of the Amazons, Journal of the Royal Anthropological 
Institute, vol. xl., 1910, pp. 73-14-] 

B. The CARIES are grouped in two different regions, one to the 



286 APPENDIX II 

north, the other to the south* The northern group is represented 
by the Guaqties, and the Carijonas of the sources of the Yapura 
(Caqueta). . . . 

The southern Carib group has not yet been pointed out, as far as 
I am aware. It is represented by the tribe of Patagoncs and by the 
Peba linguistic group, heretofore considered as forming an inde- 
pendent family. The Patagones occupied the region where the 
town of Jaen was founded, that is to say, the banks of the Amazon 
to the point where the river suddenly changes direction and flows 
due east, and the lower courses of the tributaries which it receives 
at this level : the Chamaya, the Utcubamba, the Chinchipe, and the 
Tabaconas. . . . 

C. The GUARANI group of the Upper Amazon is represented by 
the Omaguas or Campevas, the Cocamas or Ucayales, the Cocamillas 
or Cacamas of the Huallaga or Huallagas, the Yurimaguas or 
Zurimaguas. All these peoples are distributed along the length 
of the Maranon and in its islands, from the mouth of the Pulumayo 
on the east to the mouth of the Huallaga on the west, and along 
the lower courses of the last-named river and of the Ucayali. 
Their language is but little differentiated from that of other Tupi- 
Guarani idioms. 

D. The ARAWAK family is represented, in the territory under 
review, to the north by a series of peoples who occupy the banks 
of the Guaviare River, and the best known of whom are the Piapocos 
and the Achaguas, and to the south by the Tikunas. The latter 
are settled on both sides of the Amazon; on the right bank, 
between the Amazon and the lower Yavari, in the neighbourhood 
of Caballococha ; on the left bank, between the River Ambiyacu 
and the River Atacuari, on the affluents of the latter, the Yacanga 
and the Yanayaquina. Upon analysis, their language, formerly 
considered as forming an independent family, appears to be a very 
corrupt dialect of Arawak. 

E. The TUKANO linguistic family is here represented by an 
ensemble of tribes which form its western group. These tribes 
occupy the basin of the Aguarico, thence both banks of the Napo 
from its confluence with the Aguarico to its mouth at the Maranon ; 
they likewise inhabit the whole basin of the Putumayo from its 
source to its confluence with the River Yaguas; their southern 
boundary is formed by the River Mazan and by a lino between the 
Napo and the Putumayo, which would join the mouth of the Mazan 
to that of the Yaguas. Betoya tribes likewise live on the upper 
Caquetd and its affluents on both shores as far as about 74 
longitude. 



Such are, enumerated as briefly as possible, the divers linguistic 
families of the north-west region of South America, It will be 



APPENDIX II 287 

remarked that I do not include the QUICHUA family. This inten- 
tional omission demands a word of explanation, for it may surprise 
the reader. 

It is certain that at the present time Quichua is spoken at a 
great many places in the territory we have just covered. To the 
north, it is found among the Andaqui Indians in the southern part of 
the State of Tolima ; to the east, in the whole upper Napo region, 
among the Quijos Indians and on the upper Amazon ; finally, in the 
whole inter-andine valley of Ecuador, Quichua is, at the present time, 
the only Indian tongue in use; but, and one cannot insist too 
strongly on the point, this diffusion of Quichua is of a relatively 
recent date and certainly subsequent to the discovery. It was the 
missionaries who introduced the language of the Incas in all these 
regions. For territories like the Andaqui country, the upper Napo, 
the upper Amazon, which were never conquered by the sovereigns 
of Cuzco, the fact does not need to be proven, the more so as 
in these regions we nearly always find, alongside of the imported 
language (the official language, one might say), the local language, 
which in spite of the efforts of the priests has not been completely 
supplanted. 

For the regions like the Ecuadorian inter-andine valley, which 
formed part of the Peruvian Empire for nearly a century and in 
which, at the present time, no other idiom has persisted besides the 
Quichua, the fact, though less evident, is no less certain ; indisputable 
documents published by the Ecuadorian historian Gonzales Suarez, 
and which I have reproduced (Journal de la Socitid des Americanlstes 
de Paris, nouv. serie iv., 1907, 'pp. 31, 32), prove in effect that at the 
end of the sixteenth century Quichua had not yet become general 
throughout the upper plateau ; at that epoch, the local languages 
were still so widespread that the ecclesiastical authorities deemed it 
useful to have catechisms written in the divers dialects. 

Unfortunately, these precious documents have been lost, and in 
order to succeed in establishing the affinities of these languages 
which have completely disappeared, the linguist has at his disposal 
only a few rare meanings of place names. In certain cases, never- 
theless, the study of such material, insufficient as it is, permits one 
to draw positive conclusions. It is thus that I have shown that the 
language of the Car as was to all appearances a Barbacoa dialect and 
consequently Chibcha. 

It is possible that some day one may likewise be able to draw 
deductions from the meagre materials that we possess as to the 
Cauari. 

In other cases, one must have recourse to the toponomy. Finally, 
sometimes it is in the narratives of the ancient chroniclers that one 
can find the useful guide-post leading to the identification of these 



288 APPENDIX II 

languages. It is thus, for example, that I have been able to associate 
the Paltas with the Jibaro group. 

Such is the actual state of our knowledge as to the north-west 
region of South America. It is to be supposed that many simplifi- 
cations have still to be made and that a certain number of groups, 
which I must still consider as independent, will little by little dis- 
appear by fusion. The scientific study of these regions has scarcely 
commenced, and one can expect that new materials will come to 
light in the future to complete what we already possess and which 
will permit more extended and more precise comparative studies. It 
is to be hoped that the activities of our travellers will not be diverted 
from these beautiful countries, where so many interesting problems- 
await solution, and where French exploration has up to the present 
day held such an honourable rank. 



SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The following list is intended merely as a working guide to further 
reading. With rare exceptions, it does not include official publica- 
tions, law books, or periodical literature. Of official publications, 
those of the Ministries of Public Works and Foreign Affairs, Bogota", 
and of the Pan-American Union, Washington, are especially impor- 
tant. The books marked with a * contain bibliographies of value. 
Hegel's list is especially valuable for the technical literature of the 
nineteenth century. The dates given below are usually those of the 
first edition or of the latest or best. 

See also the bibliographical notes on pp. 19, 21, 26, 28, 32, 35, 36, 
58, 69, 73, 168, 233, of this volume. 

HISTORY 

(The student must, in addition to the special works on Colombia 
here noted, consult the general histories of America or Spanish, 
America, especially for the discovery, conquest, and colonial history, 
for which Jose Toribio Medina's great Biblioteca A mericana (Santiago 
Chile, 1898-1907) is an indispensable guide. See also Winsor's 
Narrative and Critical History of America* The Cambridge Modern 
History* and the other volumes of the SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES.*) 

*AcosTA. Compendio historico del descubrimiento y colonizacion 

de la Nueva Granada. Paris, 1848 ; Bogota, 1901. 
ACOSTA DE SAMPER, SOLEDAP. Biografias de hombres notables del 

descubrimiento de Colombia. Bogota^ 1883. 

General Joaquin Acosta. Bogota, 1901. 

General Antonio Narino. 

ACOSTA Y CALVO, J. J. Caldas. Paris, 1852. 

ALCEDO Y HERRERA. Aviso historico, politico, geografico con las 

noticias del Peru, Terra Firme, Chile y Nuevo Reino de 

Granada. Madrid, 1740. 

ALFARO, R. J. General Tomas Herrera. Barcelona, 1909. 
ARCOS, DR. (Camilo S. Delgado.) Historias, leyendas y tradi- 

ciones de Cartagena. Cartagena, 1911. 
ARROYO, JAIME. Historia de la Gobernacion de Popayan. 

Popayan, 1907. 

ARTURO. Cr6nicas de Bucaramanga. 
AzcoNA, PADRE, Historia de Manizales. 1911. 

20 



290 BIBLIOGRAJPH Y 

AZPURUA, RAMON. Biografias de hombres notables hispanoaineri- 

canos. Caracas, 1877. 

BANDELIER, A. F. The Gilded Man. N.Y., 1893. 
BARAYA. Biografias Militates . . . del paisen medio siglo. Bogota, 

i875. 

BENEDETTI. Historia de Colombia. Lima, 1887. 
BIBLIOTECA DE HISTORIA NACiONAL. I. La Patria Boba. II. El 

Precursor (Narino). III. Herran. IV. Los Comuneros. V. 

Aguado's Recopilacion Historial. VI. La Convencion de 

Ocafia. VII. El Tribune de 1810. VIIL Relaciones de 

mando. IX. Obras de Caldas. Bogota, v.d. 
BIBLIOTECA HISTORICA. Coleccion de biografias. 22 pamphlets. 

Bogota, v.d. 
BORDA, J. J. Historia de la Compania de Jesus en Nueva Granada. 

Paris, 1870. 

CALDERON. Elementos de Hacienda Publica. Bogota, 1911. 
CALVO, CH. Annales historiques de la Revolution de TAmerique 

latine. Paris, 1864-75, 5 vols - 
Coleccion completa de los tratados de la America Latina. 

16 vols., Paris, 1862-7. 

CAMACHO ROLDAN, S. Escritos Varios. 3 vols., Bogotd, 1892. 
CARD, F. Diario de la Secretaria del Virreynado. Published by 

Dr. F. Vinals, Madrid, 1904. 
CASSANI, J. Historia de la Compania de Jesds, misiones en el reyno, 

llanos, Meta y Rio Orinoco. Madrid, 1471. 
CASTELLANOS, JUAN DE. Historia del Nuevo Reino de Granada. 

Published by A. Paz y Melia, Madrid, 1886-8. 
Elogios de varoaes ilustres de Indias. Madrid, 1589 ; 3rd 

part, first published 1850 ; 4th part, 1886. 
CAULIN, PADRE. Historia . . . Evangelica de la Nueva Andalucia, 

Madrid, 1779. 
CEVALLOS, PEDRO FERMIN. Historia del Ecuador hasta 1845. 

7 vols., Guayaquil, 1886-9. 
CIEZA DE LEON, PEDRO. Travels. (London, Hakiuyt Society, ist 

part, 1864 ; 2nd part, 1883.) 

Cronica. Seville, 1553, ist, part ; 2nd part, 1880. 

CORDOVEZ MOURE. Remmiscencias de Santa Fe* de Bogota. 

Bogota, 1899-1910. 
CUERVO, ANGEL Y R. J. Vida de Rufino Cuervo y Noticias de 

su epoca. Paris, 1892. 
DOCUMENTOS DE LA CAMPA&A . . . contra el ejercito peruano . . . 

y batalla de Tarqui. Cuenca, 1829 ; Guayaquil, 1855. 
DOCUMENTOS PARA LA HISTORIA DE CARTAGENA. Bogota, 1883. 
DOCUMENTOS PARA LA HISTORIA DEL DPTO DE BOLIVAR. Bogota^ 

1889. 

EFEMERIDES Y ANALES DEL ESTADO DE BOLIVAR. Bogota, 1889. 
EL CENTENARIO. Revista . . . de la Junta . , , encargada . . . 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 291 

de conmemorar el Descubrimiento de America. Vol. iii., 

Madrid, 1892. 
FERNANDEZ, PADRE JOSEPH. Apost6lica y Penitente Vida del 

V.P. Pedro Claver. Zaragoza, 1666. 
FLOREZ, A. Estudio cronologico sobre los Gobernantes del con- 

tinente americano hasta 1887. Bogota, 1888. 

El Reino de Quito. Santiago, 1870. 

FLOREZ DE OCARIS, J. Genealogias del Nuevo Reino de Granada. 

Madrid, 1674-6. 
FRESLE, JUAN RODRIGUEZ. Conquista y descubrimiento del Nuevo 

Reino de Granada. Bogota, 1859-90. 
GALINDO, A. Historia economica y estadistica de la Hacienda 

Nacional. Bogota, 1874. 

Estudios economicos y fiscales. Bogota, 1880. 

GARCIA Y GARCIA. Relaciones de los Virreyes del Nuevo Reino 

de Granada. N.Y., 1869. 
GONZALEZ, N. A. El asesinato del Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho 

[Sucre]. 2 vols. 
GONZALEZ SUAREZ, F. Historia General de la Republica del 

Ecuador. 7 vols., Quito, 1890-1903. 

Memoria Historica sobre Mutis, etc. Quito, 1905. 

GROOT, J. M. Historia Eclesiastica y Civil de la Nueva Granada. 

. Bogota, 1889-93. 

(HALL.) The Present State of Colombia. London, 1827. 
HELPS, SIR A. The Spanish Conquest in America. London, 1855, 

1904. 

HENAO, J. M., Y ARRUBLA, C. Historia de Colombia. 1910, 1912. 
IBANEZ. Biografia de Jimenez de Quesada. 1892. 
JOHNSON, R. D. Old Panama and Castilla del Oro. Washington, 191 1. 
JUAN, JORGE, Y ULLOA, ANTO. Relation historica el viaje, etc. 

Madrid, 1748. (Eng. tr., Voyage to S.A., London, 1758, 1807 ; 

Fr. tr., Paris, 1752.) 
JUAN Y ULLOA. Noticias secretas de America. . . . sacadas a 

luz por David Barry. London, 1826* 
JULIAN, ANTO. La Perla de America, provincia de Santa Marta. 

Madrid, 1787. 
LALLEMANT. Histoire de la Colombie. Paris, 1826. (Sp. tr., 1827, 

Paris,) 

LARRAZABAL. Vida del Libertador. N.Y., 1866, 1901. 
MANCINI, JULES. Bolivar et 1' emancipation des colonies Espag- 

noles des origines a 1815. Paris, 1912. 
MANRIQUE TERAN, G. Cartagena de Indias. Cartagena, 1911. 
MARKHAM, SIR C. R. Conquest of New Granada. New York, 

1912. Map. 

MARTINEZ SILVA. Biografia de Jose Fernandez Madrid. 
MATUTE, R. P. SANTIAGO. Los Padres Calendarios en Colombia 

6 vols., 1897-1903. 



292 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

MEDINA, J. TORIBIO. Historia . . . de la Inquisici6n de Carta- 
gena. Santiago (Chile), 1899. 
MENDOZA, DIEGO. Evolucion de la propiedad en Colombia. 

1897. 
MUENSCH, E. J. H. VON. Die Geschichte von Colombia. 

Dresden, 1828. 
NOTICIAS de la pacificacion, poblacion, etc., de la Provincia de 

Cartagena de Indias. 1809. 

NUNEZ, RAFAEL. La Reforma Politica. Bogotd, 1885. 
OLANO, ANTONIO. Popayan en la Colonia. Popayan, 1910. 
ORJUELA, Luis. Minuta historica Zipaquirefia. 
PAEZ, J. A. Autobiografia. 2 vols., N.Y., 1878. 
PALACIOS, B. Apuntaciones Historico-Geogrdficas de la Provincia 

de Cali. 1896. 

PARRA, AQUILEO. Memorias autobiograficas, Bogota, 1913. 
*PAXSON, F. L. The Independence of the South American 

Republics. Philadelphia, 1903. 
PERALTA, M.M. DE. Costa Rica y Colombia de 1573 hasta 1881. 

Madrid, Paris, 1886. 

PEREZ, ENRIQUE. Vida de Felipe Perez. Bogotd, 1910. 
PEREZ, FELIPE. Biografia de Zea. Bogotd, 1873. 
PEREZ, RAFAEL P. La Compafiia de Jesus en Colombia y Centro- 

America despues de su restauraci6n. 3 vols., Valladolid 

(Spain), 1896-7. 

*PETRE, F. L. Simon Bolivar. London and New York, 191 1. Map. 
PIEDRAHITA, L. FERNANDEZ DE. Historia General de la Conquista 

del Nuevo Reyno de Granada i* parte. Antwerp, 1688 ; 

Bogota, 1881. 
PLAZA, }. A. DE. Memorias para la Historia de la Nueva Granada 

hasta 1 8 10. Bogotd, 1850. 
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1850. 
POSADA GUTIERREZ, J. Memorias Historico-Politicas. 2 vols., 

Bogotd, 1865-81. 
QUIJANO OTERO, J. M. Compendio de la Historia Patria. Bogotd 

(5th ed.), 1910. 
RELACION DE TODO LO QUE SUCEDIO EN LA JORNADA DE OMACUA 

Y DORADO HECHO FOR EL GOBERNADOK PEDRO DB UBSUA. 

Madrid, 1881. 

RESTREPO EUSE, A. Historia de Antioquia. 
RESTREPO, J. M. Historia de la Revoluci6n de la Repiiblica de 

Colombia. Paris, 1827 ; Besan^on, 1859. 

Compendio de la Historia de Colombia. Paris, 1833. 

RIVAS GROOT, J. M. Pdginas de la Historia de Colombia. 
RIVERO, FRAY JUAN. Historia de las Misiones de los Llanos 

(escrita 1736), Bogotd, 1883. 
RUBIO Y BRICENO. Tunja, Bogotd, $909, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 293 

SAMPER, J, M. Historia de un alma . . , historia contemporanea 

1834-1881. Bogota. 
SAMPER, MIGUEL. Escritos politicos economicos. 2 vols., Bogotd, 

1898. 
SANTANDER, A. Biografia de Lorenzo de Aldana y Corograf ia 

de Pasto. Pasto, 1896. 
SCARPETTA, L., y VERGARA, V. Diccionario biografico de los 

campeones de la Libertad. Bogotd, 1879. 
SCHUMACHER, H. A. El Dorado. Hamburg, 1889. 

Drei Lebens und Cultur- Bilder-Mutis, Caldas, Codazzi. 

Berlin, 1884. 

SIMON, FRAY PEDRO. Noticias historiales. Cuenca 1626 (ist part 
only) ; Bogota, 1882-92, 5 vols. (ch. 27 of 7th notice, 2nd part, 
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STEVENSON, W. B. History ... of Twenty Years' Residence in 
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TERNAUX-COMPANS, Voyages, etc. Paris, 1837-41. 

Recueil de documents et memoires originaux sur rhistoire 

des possessions espagnoles dans I'Amerique. Paris, 1840. 

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VASQUEZ, Fco. Relaci6n . . . de la Jornada de Omagua y Dorado. 

ist published Madrid, 1881. 

VELASCO. Historia del Reino de Quito. 5 vols., Quito, 1841-4. 
VELEZ, FERNANDO. Historia del Derecho Nacional. Medellin, 1891. 
VERGARA Y VERGARA, J. M. Vida y escritos del General Narifio. 
VON LANGEGG, F. A. El Dorado. Leipzig, 1888. 
ZAMORA, FRAY A. DE. Historia de la provincia de San Antonio 

del Nuevo Reino de Granada. Barcelona, 1701. 

HISTORY OF LITERATURE 

ISAZA, E. (ed.) Antologia Colombiana, 2 vols. 

LAVERDE AMAYA, I. Bibliografia Colombiana. Bogotd, 1895. 

MEDINA, JOSE TORIBIO. La Imprenta en Bogota. Santiago 

Chile, 1904. 

La Imprenta en Cartagena. Santiago, Chile, 1904. 
MENENDEZ Y PELAYO, M. Antologia de poetas hispano-americanos 

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TORRES CAICEDO, J. M. Ensayos biogrdficos y de critica. Paris 

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VERGARA Y VERGARA, J. M. Historia de la literatura en la Nueva 

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GENERAL WORKS AND TRAVELS 

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294 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

AUBERT, GEORGES. Les Nouvellcs Ameriques. Paris, 1901. 
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1827. Map. 

BECK, CARL. Sonnenblicke von lateinischen Amerika. Berlin, 1908. 
BIANCONI ET BROC. Colombie et Equateur. Paris, 1887. Map. 
BINGHAM, H. Journal of an Expedition across Venezuela and 

Colombia . . . route of Bolivar's March. New Haven, 1909. 

Map. 
BUCHNER, F. Reise Skizzen aus Columbian und Venezuela. 

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CARNEGIE-WILLIAMS, R. A Year in the Andes. London, 1882. 
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REMARKS ON THE CANAL OR DIQUE OF CARTAGENA, New York, 

1855. Maps and plans. 
REISS UND STtiBEL. Reisen in Sud Amerika. Berlin, 1892-1902* 

Maps. 
Geologische Studien in der Republik Colombia. Berlin, 

1892. Maps. 

ROCHA. Memorandum deViaje(Regiones Amaz6nicas). Bogota,ioj05. 
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lena River). 
SAFFRAY, DR. Voyage a la Nouvelle Grenade, in Tour du Monde, 

1872-3. 



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1883. 



INDEX 



Abibe, Sierra de : coal deposits, 
164 

ACOSTA, JOAQ., 200 

Aerial railway, 119 

Agencies, foreign commercial, 126, 

130 
Agriculture, 20, 27, 138-57, 215, 

217, 232, 253, 255 
Agua Clara River, 165 
Aguardiente, 148 
AGUIRRE, LOPE DE, 31 
Ahruaco Indians, 185 
Ajaju River, 241 
Alcaldes, 59-61 
Alcohol, 148 
Alfalfa, 215 
Algarroba bean, 178 
ALLEN, A. A., quoted, 208 
Alligators, 240 
Altitude, effect of, 138, 139 ; high 

altitudes sought by the Span- 
iards, 199 ; see Climate 
Amaga, railroad, 97, 114, 119; coal 

at, 163 

Amalfi mines, 170 
Amazon River and watershed, 5, 

6, 7, 10, 179, 212, 228, 229, 237- 

47; Colombia's claims, 53, 245 
Ambalema, 98, 211 
American miners, 169, 173 ; 

traders, 213 

Amusements, 203, 221, 222 
Anaime, 210 
ANCIZAR, 5, 263 
ANDAGOYA, 16 
Andagueda River, 165 
Andean regions, 199-227 
Andes (mountains), 5-12, 197 ; see 

Central, Eastern, and Western 

Cordilleras 



302 



Andes (town), coal at, 153 

AHDRE, 5 

Anglo-Colombian Development 
Company, 165, 175 

Anglo-Colombian Investment 
Company, 173 

Angostura, Congress at, 36 

Anon mines, 170, 172 

Anti- American feeling, 48-51 

Antioquia (Department), 9, 62, 
118, 146, 155, 200-3, *49> 2 5*> 
252 ; character of population, 
200, 205, 214 ; possible outlet to 
Pacific, 194; mineral wealth, 
164, 168-72 

Antioquia railroad, 96, 114 

Antioquia (town), u8 

Antioquian colonies, 107, 20 r, 205, 
210, 211 ; traders, 136, 200 ; 
miners, 169, 171 

Apoporis River, 240, 241 

Apure River, 10 

Araracuara rapids, 244 

Arauca, 63, 229, 233 

Arauca River, 229, 233 

Arauquita, 233 

ARBOLEDA, 200 

Arboletes, lignite deposits, 164 

Archaeological remains, 208, 226 

Area, 62, 63 

Ariari River, 238 

ARIAS DAVILA, PEDRO, 16 

Ariguani River, 153 

Aristocratic families, 199, 206 

215 

Armenia, 9, 203 
Arracackas, 154, 218 
Arracataca River, 153 
Arranca Plumas, 97 
Art School, 254 



INDEX 



303 



Asphalt, 164, 210 

Assay offices, 171, 202 

Assembly, National, 66 

Atabapo River, 237 

Atlantic Coast Region, 139, 155, 

156, 181-92 

Atlantic Fruit Company, 184 
Atlantic Ocean, 2 
Atlantico (Department), 62, 189, 

*5*> 252 

Atrato Canal, 192, 193 
Atrato River, 192-4 
Atures rapids, 237 
Australian miners, 174 
Automobiles, 97, 102 
Ayapel, 139 
Ayuntamiento, 59, 60 

BADILLO, 19 

Batata, 178, 239 

BALBOA, 15, 16 

Baldios (Government lands), 177- 

80, 232 
Banana industry, 91, 92, 119, 124, 

125, 152, 183-5, 192, 204, 205, 

218 

Banco, 9, 92, 95, 187 
Banco Central, 77, 86, 108 
Banco National, 73, 74 
Banks and banking, 73, 77, 84-7, 

210, 220 
Barbacoas, 109, 196 ; mining, 165, 

174 
Barranquilla, 62, 86, 90, 91, 155, 

187, 188 
Barranquilla Railway and Pier 

Company, 90, 114, 118, 183 
Barrigon, 236 
BASTIPAS, 13, 16 
Baudo mountains, 7, 194 
Baudo" River, 193 
Bavaria brewery, 219 
Beans, 146, 202 
Bebara River, 165 
Belalcazar (Benalcazar), 18, 19, 

199 

BELLO, 70 
" Black water," 240 
Blackleg, 142 
BLAINE, 47 
Bodega Central, 



Bogota, 18, 62, 86, 102, 117, 19 



216, 236, 253; founded, i! 
during War for Independence, 
33, 30; public buildings, 65, 66 j 



climate and altitude, 220, 221 ; 
social and intellectual life, 219 
seq. ; trade and industries, 220, 
221 ; population, 220 ; excursions, 
224 

Bogota" River, 225 

Bogota", tableland of, n, 216, 217 ; 
agriculture, 140, 141 

Bolivar (Department), 62, 118, 139, 
189-91, 251-2 

BOLIVAR, SIMON, 34-9, 42, 47, 48 

Bonanza, record, 174 

Bonds, Government, 82, 83 j rail- 
road, 90, 91, 92, 98-100, 102, 103, 

r> 114 

BONPLAND, 4 

Book-stores in Bogota, 222 
BORJA, President, 25 
Botany, 3, 254 
Boundaries, 2, 52-4, 197, 207 

BOUSSINGAULT, 5, 207 

Boyaca (Department), 62, 102, 155, 

212, 215, 216, 251, 252 
Boyaca, battle, 35 
Brazil, boundary with, 2; trade 

with, 240 seq. 

Breitung Mines Corporation, 169 
BRISSON, 5, 233 
BRYCE, quoted, 246 
Bucaramanga, n, 63, 85, 96, 102, 

103, 117, 174, 214; railway, sec 

Puerto Wilches 
Buccaneers, 20, 21, 26 
Budgets : local and departmental, 

64, 65 ; national, 80 
Buenaventura, 108, 109, 119, 179, 

194, 195, 204; customs duties, 

134 ; discovery, 16 
Buga, 205, 206 
BUNAU-VARILA, 50 
Butter, 142 

Cable at Buenaventura, 195 

Cacao, 151, 185, 194, 196, 204, 205, 
210, 214, 218, 233 

Caceres, coal at, 103 ; gold dredg- 
ing, 169 

Cagudn River, 239 

Calamar (on Magdalena River), 90, 
91 

Calamar (on Unilla River), 239 

Caldas (Department), 62, 64, 155, 
201, 203, 249, 251, 252 

Caldas (town), 97 

CALDAS, 4; 201, 254, 259, 260 



304 



INDEX 



Caledonia Bay, 28 

Call, 62, 86, 108, 109, 118, 195, 206; 

coal-beds, 163 
CAMACHO ROLDAN, 263 
Cambao road, 99, 217 
Canal, see Panama, Atrato 
CANE, quoted, 267 
Cannibals, 284 
CANNING, 38 

Capital, need of foreign, 131 
Capitol, 65, 66 
Caqueta River, 5, 53, 233, 237, 239, 

241, 242, 243 

Caqueta Territory, 10, 63, 241-7 
Carabobo, battle of, 38 
Carare River and Indians, 215; 

coal, 163 
Car ate, 208 

Carib Indians, 181, and App, II 
Caribbean Sea, 2 
Caribe (cannibal fish), 241 
Carmen, 190 
CARO, J. E., 262, 266 
CARO, M. A., 41, 262, 263 
Carretera Central del Norte, 102 
Cartagena, 86, 89, 155, 179, 183, 

188, 189, 253 ; foundation, 14, 15, 

16; fleets at, 20; sacked by 

Drake, 25, 188; attacked by 

buccaneers, 26, 188 ; by Vernon, 

27, 1 88; Inquisition, 26, x88; 

walls, 29, 189; during War for 

Independence, 34, 38, 189 
Cartagena Railway, 90, 91, 114, 

118, 189 

Cartago, 105, 107, 108, 118, 204,209 
Casanare, 10, 139, 229-36 
Cascada Mine, 172 
CASEMENT, Sir R., 242 
Casiquiare River, 237 
Cassava, 237 
CASTRO, 52 

Catatumbo River, 103 
Catholic religion, 43, 250; see 

Missions * 
Cattle, 105, 118, 137, 139, 140, 156, 

181, 189, 190, 203, 204, 205, 210, 

2ii, 217, 230, 231 
Ceniza mouth of Magdalena, 188 
Census, 62, 63 
Central Cordillera, 6, 8, 9, 105, 107, 

119, 197, 204, 210; mining, 159, 

163, 168-73, 207 
Cerruti claim, 55 
Certegui River, 165 



CESAR, 19 

Cesar River, 92, 95, 186 

Chameza saltworks, 159 

Champan, 104 

Chaparral, 210 

Chapetoncs, 33 

CHAPMAN, P. M,, 5 

CHAVES, 172 

Cheese, 142 

Chibchas, conquest of, 17, 18, 215 

225 ; salt mined by, 159 
Chicha, 148, 218 

Chile, friendly relations with, 54 
Chiles (mt), 7 
Chiquinquira, 100, 215 
Chiriguand, 187 
Chita ^mt), n ; saltworks, 159 
Choco, 5, 63, 192-4 (sec Darion) 

mines, 165, 174 
Chocolate, see Cacao 
Cienaga, 183 
CIEZA DE LEON, 3 
Cinchona, 73, 241 
Circasia, 9 

Ciudad Bolivar (Venezuela), 236 
Civil law, 69 
Civil servants, 79, 80 
Clergy, in politics, 40 ; influence 

of, 224, 250, 251, 201 
Climate, 138, 139, 171, 174, 175, 

184, 185, 188, 192-7, 208, 212, 

216, 217, 220, 231, 236, 238, 239, 
24.0, 245 

Coal, ioo, lor, 108, 163, 164, 171, 

182, 187, 218 
Coast line, 2 ; discovery, 13 ; zones, 

J 3^ 139 

Coca, 186 

Cocoa, see Cacao 

Coconucos, paramo dc, 10$ 

Coconuts, 191 

Cocui, Sierra Nevada de, ix 

Cocuy hills, 7 

CODAZZI, 5, 208, 2^3 

Codes, 69 

Coffee: importance, 149; excel- 
lence, 150, 217 ; where grown, 8, 
it, 102, 149, 156, 185, 193, 201, 
203, 205, 210, 212-14, 2x7, 218, 
336 ; trade in, 124, 125, 149 

Colombia, name, 13, 39, 40 

Colombian Central Railway Com- 
pany, ICO 

Colombian Emerald Mining Com- 
pany, Ltd,, 160 



INDEX 



305 



Colombian Mining and Exploration 

Company, 172 
Colombian National Railway 

Company, 99 
Colombian Northern Railway 

Company, 100 
Colombian Southern Railway, 

Ltd., ioo 

Colonial history, 19-30 
Colonies, revolt of, 29, 131 
COLUMBUS, 13 
Comision Corogrqfica, 5 
Commerce, 123-37 
Commercial law, 09, 70 
Commercial travellers, 132, 136 
Commission merchants, 124, 126, 

130 

Comuneros, uprising of the, 30, 32 
Condoto River placers, 165 
Congress, 66, 67 
Conquest, Spanish, 13-20 
Consejos municipales, 59, 60 
Conservative party, 39-43 
Consorcia Albingia, 192 
Constancia Mine, 172 
Constitution, 38-41, 57, 58, 66, 67, 

249; 1910 amendments trans- 
lated, 271-81 
Consular service, 55, 56 
Copper, 164, 187, 216 
Cordilleras, see Eastern, Central, 

Western 
Corinto, 241 
Corn, Indian, 145, 202, 215, 218, 

233 

Corozal, 189 
Corruption, 60 
CORTES, S,, 255 
COSA, JUAN DE LA, 13 
Cosquez emerald mines, 161 
Cotton, 153, 188, 202 
Courts, 67, 68 
Credit! currency, undeveloped, 



Credits, commercial, 130, 131 

CREVAUX, 5, 233, 24? 

Criminal law, 70 

Cucuta, ii, 103, 212, 213, 229; 
projected railway to the Magrln- 
lena, 117, 213; customs duties, 
134 ; Congress at, 38 

Cucuta Railway, 103, 114, 115, 2x3 

CUERVO, J. R., 255 

CUERVO MARQUKZ, C., 255 

Cumaral salt-mines, 159, 160 



Cumbal (mt.), 7 

Cundinamarca (Department), 62, 

64, 102, 148, 155; plateau, 99, 

212, 215-27, 251, 252 
Cupica, 194 
Currency, 72-9 
Customs duties, 80, 133, 134, 230, 

236 
Cyanide process introduced, 171 

Dagua River, 6 

Dairying, 142, 217 

DALPINGER, 19 

Darien, still unexplored, 5; Spanish 
colony at, 14, 16 ; Scots colony, 
27, 28 ; port improvements, 119, 
191, 192 ; see Choc<5 

Debt, foreign, 81-3 

Debt, internal, 81, 83, 84 

DEGENHARDT, 5 

DELGADO, Padre, 230, 233 

D'ELHUYAR, 173 

Democratic feeling, 218 

Departments, 61-5 

Dictators, 38, 40, 42 

Diplomatic relations, 47-56 

Dique, 81, 188, 190 

Discovery by Spaniards, 13-20 

Divi-divi, 182 

Dominicans, 25 

Dorada Railway Company, 97, 

114, 119,210 
DRAKE, 25 
Drama, Colombian, undeveloped, 

Dredging, 169, 174, 175 
Drink, 148, 218, 223 
Dupar Valley, 95, 120, 186 

Earthquakes at Cucuta, 212 
Eastern Cordillera, 5, 6, 9, 10, 

102, 120, 212, 238, 244 ; mining, 

159,161,163,173 
EASTMAN, Dr., quoted, 79 
Echandia mines, 172 
Economists, Colombian, 263 
Ecuador, union with, 37 ; secedes, 

39 ; diplomatic relations with, 

53, 54 ; frontier, 197,207 
EDER, C. J., 138 
Education, 248-57, 269, 270 ; in 

the colony, 24, 25, 29 ; missions 

in Goajira, 183 ; in Medellin, 

203 ; in Boyaci 216 



21 



306 



INDEX 



EHINGER, 19 

El Dorado, 16, 226 

Electric development, 159, 172, 

187, 189, 202, 213, 214, 215, 221, 

225 

Eliconia, coal at, 163 
Emeralds, 160-2, 216 
England, trade with, 124-30, 133, 

213 
English explorers, 5 j miners, 170, 

173 

Exchange, fluctuations in, 72, 75, 
76, 78, 79 ; foreign bills used for 
domestic business, 85 

Executive Power, 58, 65 ; set Con- 
stitution 

Exports, 73, 123-9, 181, 184, 187, 
189, 195, 196, 213 

Facatativd, 99 

Fairs, 137 

FALLON, 267 

Federal form of Government, 37, 
40 ; see Constitution 

FEDERMANN, 18, 19 

FERDINAND VII, 33 

FERNANDEZ DE ENCISO, 15 

FERNANDEZ MADRID, 266 

Fibre, 154 

Fiction, Colombian, 265 

Finances, national, 77-84 

Florencia, 244 

Foreign affairs, 47-56 

Foreign claims, 55 

Foreigners in Colombia, 55, 169, 
180, 269; see also Germans, 
English, etc. 

Forests, utilization of, 177-80, 
190, 215, 233, 236 ; description 
of, 208, 209, 245 ; Amazon forest- 
belt, 237-47 

Frailejon, 217 

Francia Gold Mining Company, 
174 

France, trade with, 124-9, r 3 2 

Fredonia, coal at, 163 

Freiberg process, 173 

Freight rates, 101, 115; obstacles 
to trade, 133 ; and to agriculture, 

*S*> *97> 2 07 
French explorers, 5 ; miners, 169, 

171, 174 
FRESLE, quoted (version of El 

Dorado), 226 
Fresno, 210 



Frias Mine, 173, 210 

Frontiers, 2, 52-4 

Frontino and Bolivia mines, 170 

Fruits, 222 

Fundacion River, 92, 153 

Garza plumes, 236 

Geographical exploration, history 
of, 3~5> 233 

Germans: explorers, 5; occupation 
of Venezuela by, 19 ; in bank- 
ing business, 87 

Germany, friendly feeling for, 55 ; 
in trade, 124, 131, 132, 187, 213, 
219; improvements on Gulf of 
Darien, 192; commerce with, 
124, 125, 127, 128 

Girardot, 98, 104, 107 

Girardot railway, 98, 99, in, 114, 
217 

Goajira peninsula, 6, 11,63, 120; 
coal deposits, 164, 181, 182, 251 

Goajiro Indians, 181-3 

Goats, 216, 217 

Gold, 27, 73, 79 ; exports, 124, 158, 
164, 166-76 196; statistics of 
production, 167, 168 

GOLDSCHMIDT & Co., mining 
pioneers, 172 

Government, form of, 37, 39, 40, 

57-67 

Government ownership of rail- 
ways, 114, 121 

Governors, Departmental, 59, 61 

Gran Columbia, La, 38 

GRANGER, 119, 175 

Grazing lands, public, 179 

Great Central Northern Railway 
Company, 102 

GROOT, 261 

Guadalupo (mt,) 224 

Guadalupe (town), 244, 

Guaduas Valley, coal in, 163 

Guaima Kiver, 232, 237 

Guanacas,* ammo de> 105 

Guapf, 196 

Guatavita Lake, 225-7 

Guaviarc River, 232, 233, 237, #40 

Guayabero Kivcr, *JQ, 2;^ 

GUTIERREZ, GONZALES," 266 

HAEBLER, Professor, quolcri, 20, 

21 
Hamburg American Lino, 90, 184, 

192 



INDEX 



307 



Hay-Herran treaty, 50 

Herons, 236 

HERRING, GRAHAM & POWLES, 173 

Herveo (mt.), 9 

HETTNER, 5 

Hides, export of, 125, 143, 213, 

?3 6 . 

Historians, Colombian, 260-1 
HOHERMUTH of Spires, 19 

HOLGUIN, C., 262 

Home Rule, 59 

Honda, 97, 98, 211 ; road, 99, 217 
Horses, breeding, 144, 182, 217 
Huila (Department), 62, 207-10, 

244, 251, 252 
Huila (mt.), 8, 204, 207 
HUMBOLDT, 4, 159, 229 
Hurricanes, 236 
HUTTEN, VON, 19 
Hygiene, 46 

Ibague", 62, 105, 119, 210, 2ii 
Illiteracy, 216, 218, 240, 248 
Immigration, need of, 46 ; public 

lands suitable for, 179 ; deterrent 

to, 257 
Imports, 123-33, 181, 184, 187, 

189, 195, 196, 213 
Independence, War of, 29, 31-6 
Indiarubber, see Rubber 
Indian languages, 282-8 
Indian mines, 168 
Indians, civilized, 8, 137, 155, 

(Ahruaco) 185, (Pastuso) 207, 

(Huila) 209, (Boyaci) 212, 216, 

(Bogoti) 218, 223, (Paez) 250 
Indians, conquest of, 14,17-19, 21-4 
Indians, savage: Goajiro, 181-2; 

Motilones, 186, 187; in Choc6, 

193; Carare and Opon, 215; 

Casanare, 235 ; Vaupes, Caqueta 

and Putumayo, 239-43 
Inirida River, 232, 233, 237 
Inns 88, 106 

Inquisition at Cartagena, 26 
Insurance companies, 220 
Intellectual life, 223, 248-70 
Intermarriage, 199, 200 
Ipiales, 207 
Iro River, 165 
Iron mines and foundries, 163, 

164 

ISAACS, 265 
Istmina, 194 
Itilla (Itiya) River, 238, 240, 241 



Ivory nuts (tagua), 125, 140, 193, 
195, 196, 197, 215 

AMES, mining pioneer, 170 

apan, friendly feeling for, 55 

esuits, 3, 25, 29, 30, 261 

ews, 200, 201 

ournalism, 257-9 

UAN, JORGE, 3 
J udiciary, 67, 68 
Junta de Amortization, 76, 78 
Junta de Conversion, 78 
Jurado, 63 

KARSTEN, 5 
KOCH-GRUNBERG, 5, 233 

La Bolsa, 118 

La Dorada and railway, 93, 97, 

114. US 

La Manuelita, 146, 190 

La Pradera, coal at, 163 ; iron- 
works, 164 

La Quiebra, 96 

Labour, shortage of, 46, 151, 166, 
178, 201, 220 ; organization, 60 ; 
character of, 148, 151, 152, 161, 
175, 205, 219, 240, 256 

LAS CASAS, 23 

Las Papas, 208 

Law and lawyers, 68-71 ; mining 
laws, 176, 177 ; law schools, 253, 



Lead, 16 

Lebrija River, 96, 102, 214 

Legal procedure, 68 

Legislature, 66, 67 

Leon River, 192 ; mineral wealth, 

164 

Lepers, number of, 63 
Liberal party, 39-43, 122 
Library, National, 222 . 
Linguistic stocks, aboriginal, 282-8 
Literature, 205, 222, 248, 257-70 
Live stock, 203, 205, 211, 216, 217, 

218, 230 ; see also Cattle, Horses, 

etc. 

Llaneros, 35, 235 
Llanos, 6, 10, 20, 120, 139, 143, 

228-37 
Locusts, 197 
Los Monos, 209 

Macaya River, 241 
Magangue, 96 



308 



INDEX 



Magdalena River and Valley, 6, 9, 
105, 138, 139, 154. I78> 189, 207, 
211 ; discovery, 16, 17 ; travel 
and transportation, 89- -()9, 104, 
112, 117, 119, 120, 169, 187, 188 ; 
headwaters, 209 
Magdalena (Department), 62, 64, 

i3-7> 251, 252 
Mahogany, 178, 190 
Maipures rapids, 237 
Maize, 145, 202, 215, 218, 233 
Mallama, mining district, 173 
Manaos (Brazil), 244 
Manihot, 237 
Manizales, 62, 86, 97, 107, 119, 172, 

203 

MANNING, I. A., quoted, 175 
Manoco, 237 
Manta, La, Mine, 173 
Manuelita, La, sugar factory, 146 
Manufactures, 187, 188, 202, 207, 

216, 219, 224 
Manzanares, 210 
Maracaibo, 13, 181 ; navigation, 

52, 103, 117,213 
Marble, 216 
Mana (novel), 265 
Mariquita, 119, 173, 210 
Markets, 136, 216 
Marmato mining region, 172 
MARROQUIN, 41, 262 
Marulanda, 210 
MAY, JOHN, 164 

MedelHn, 9, 62, 79, 86, 87, 96, 97, 
107, 119, 120, 141, 171, 194, 202, 
253 

Medical profession, 254, 256, 257 
Medicinal plants, 178, 233 
Medina mountains, 234 
Mesaya River, 241 
Meta River, 10, 120, 229, 233, 236 
Meta Territory, 63, 236 
Micay, too, 196 ; mining, 165 
MILLER, L. E., quoted, 244 
Mining, 20, 27, 158-77* 182, 187, 

196, 197, 201, 202, 210, 2IO, 
2l8 

Mining laws, 177, 178 
Mira River, 6, 197 
MIRANDA, 32 

Missions, 20, 183, 241, 243, 250 
Mocoa, 244 
Molasses, 1418, 217 
Mompox, 95 
Money, 72-9 



Monroe doctrine, 38, 48 
Monserrate (mt.), 224 
MONTANO, 24 
MOORE, TYKKKI,L, 170 
MOR<JAW, 26 
MOUILLO, General, 34 
Mortgage banks, 85 
MOSQUERA, T. C,, 5, 39, 40, 66 
Mosquitoes, 94, 240, 245 
Motiloncs Indians, 186, 187 
Mulattoes, 191, 198 
Mules, breeding, 144, 217 
Muneque saltworks, 159 
Municipal government, 50, 60 
Municipalities, number of, 62, 63 
MURILLO TORO, 262 
Music, Conservatory of, 254 
Mims, 3, 29, 254 
Muzo Indians, 19 
Muzo mines, 25, 79, 160-2, 216 

Napipi River, 193 

Napo River, 245 

NAPOLEON, 33, 34 

Nare, 96 

NARifto, ANTONIO, 32, 260 

Narifio (Department), 63, 155, 203, 

207, *w> 25*> 2 5 2 
Natural history, 3-5, 254, 
Navigation, see Steamships 
Nazareth, 9 

Ncchf River, 95, 120 ; mines, 169 
Negroes, ax, 23, 155, 156, x6<, 175, 

184, 187, 191, 193, 197, 198, 205, 

207, 214 

Negua River, 165 
Neiva, 62, 104, 210, 243 
NemocxSn, zoo; salt mines, 159, 

160 ; coal mines, 163 
New Granada: colonial history, 

20-30 ; conquest of, 18, 21 ; 

Republic of, 39 
Newspapers, 257-9 
NICUBSA, 14 
Norte de Santandcr (Department), 

63, 212-14, 251, 252 
Norfo (Northern) Railway, 99-101, 

114, 120 
North Tolima Mining Company, 

173 

N6vita, i% 209. 
Nueva Anoalucia ; 14 
Nuevos Cri$iiano$> aox 

BALBOA, VASCO, 15^ 16 
RAFAEL, 41, 73, 262 



INDEX 



309 



Ocana, u, 96, 104, 214 

Oficina de Longitudes, 5 

Oil, 164, 165, 187 

OJEDA, 13-15 

OLDEN, CHARLES, quoted, 160 

Opon River and Indians, 215 

Opon, Sierra, discovery, 17 

Orchids, 179 

Orinoco River and watershed, 5, 6, 

7, 10, 212, 228-38 ; navigation 

of, 52, 214, 236 
Orocue, 229, 236 

Oroville Dredging Company, 169 
Orteguasa or La Fragua fever, 

244 

ORTIZ, 266 
OSPINA, M., 262 
OSPINA, T., 255 
Oxen, 10 1 

Pacho, coal at, 163 ; iron, 164 
Pacific Ocean, 2, 109; discovery, 
15, 16 ; coast region, 138, 139, 



156, 174, 179; 192-8 
^acific Railv 



Pacific Railway, 108, 114, 115, 121 

Pacific Steam Navigation Com- 
pany, 196 

Pack animals, 88, 101 

Packing-houses, field for, 232 

Padavida hills, 7 

PAEZ, 39 

Pez Indians, 250 

Palmira, 190, 206 

Pamplona, 214 

Panam, 20, 47, 55, 63 ; trade with, 
127, 129; secession 01,41,49-51, 

Panama Canal, 2, 48-50, 108, 156, 

194, 204, 205, 247 
Panama hats, 125, 154, 196, 203, 

207, 210, 214 



Pan-American Railway, 5, 118 

Pan-Americanism, 47, 48 

Panches Indians, 19 

Panela, 149 

Pantano Mine, 172 

Paper money, 41, 72-0 

Paramos, 105, 106, 208, 209, 217 

PASCHKE, R^ 170 

Pasto, 8, a, ii, 18, 34, 63, 86, 108, 

109, 118, 120, 141, 143, 172, 207, 

241, 242, 243, 2<J4, 253 
Pasture lands, 189, 202, 205, 207, 

217; value, 143 ; see Cattle 



PATERSON, WM., 27, 28 

Patia River, 8, 141, 143, 196, 197 

Pato mines, 169 

PEDRARIAS, 16 

Penal settlement, 244 

Pereira, 137, 203 

PEREZ TRIANA, S., 122, 233 

Peru, war with, 39 ; feeling against, 

39, 53 ; diplomatic relations 

with, 52-4, 2*3 
Peruvian rubber-traders, see 

Putumayo 

Petroleum, 164, 165, 187 
Phosphates, 182 
PIAR, General, 35 
Pie de Gallo Mine, 174 

PlEDRAHITA, Bishop, 260 

Pigs, 140, 217 

Pijao Indians, 19 

Piracy, stream, 237 

Pirates, 20, 25, 20, 191 

PIZARRO, 14, 16 

Piano alto, 238 

Plantains, 144, 193, 202, 204, 205, 

Platina River, 165 

Platinum exports, 125, 166 ; mines, 

165, 166 

PLAZA, J. A., 260 
Poblanco, 118 
Poetry, 205, 235, 266-8 
POINTIS, 26 

Political controversies, 42, 43 
POMBO, RAFAEL, 267 
Popaydn, 8, 18, 62, 86, 104, 108, 

109, 118, 196, 199,206, 210, 253 
Population, 62, 63 ; diversity, 199, 

200 

Force River placer mines, 169 
Pore, 229, 233 
Portobefio, 20, 25 
Ports, 89, 90, 91, 119, 181, 183, 188, 

191, 192, 194-6 
POSADA GUTIERREZ, 261 
POSADA, J. P., 266 
Post and Telegraph, 229, 244 
Precious stones, 164; see also 

Emeralds 
Prefects, 59-60 
Presidents, 37-42, 262 
President, powers of the, 58, 59, 

65, 66, 67 ; palace of, 65 
Printing-presses, introduction of, 

259 
Prisons, 71 



310 



INDEX 



Proletariat, 60 

Prospectors, mining, warning to, 

175 
Protestants in San Andres, 191 

Provinces, 59-63 

Providencia (Providence) Ulund, 

loo, 191 

Public employees, 79, 80 
Public Iands/i77-8o, 202 
Puerto Berrio, 96, 120 
Puerto Cana, 238 
Puerto Cesar, 192 
Puerto Colombia, 89, go 
Puerto Dagua, 118 
Puerto Escoses, 28 
Puerto Villamizar, 103 
Puerto Wilches Railway, too, 102, 

114,117,121,214 
Purace (mt), 8, 207 
Putumayo atrocities, 179, 237, 242 
Putumayo River and Territory, 5, 

53, 54, 63, 179, 233> 237, 241, 

242, 2 43> 245 

QUESADA, GONZALO JIMENEZ DE, 
17-19, 250 

QUESADA, HERNAN PEREZ DE, 19 

Quibdo, 191, 193 

Quicksilver, 164 

Quindio, 9, 97, 105-7, 119, 203, 

216 
Quinine exports, 73, 241 

Race prejudice, 45 

Races, see Indians, Negroes, 
Mulattoes, Spanish 

Railways, 89-122 ; statistics, 114, 
115 ; waste in past construction, 
ni, 112 ; capital for, 116; sub- 
sidies, 113, 116, 120-2 

Rainfall, see Climate, Seasons 

Rancheria River, 181 

Recetor saltworks, 159 

RECLUS, 5 ; quoted, 135 

Recognition, 38 

REISS, 5 

Religion and politics, 40, 42-5 

Remedies mines, 170 

RESTREPO, J. M,, 260 

RESTREPO, President, 42 

RESTREPO TIRADO, E., 255 

RESTREPO, V,, estimate of min- 
eral production, 167 

Revenues, local, 61-5; national, 
61, 80, 159 



Revolutions, 31, 40-6 ; set Inde- 
pendence 

REYES, 5, 42, 76, 78, 83, 102, 233, 
242 

Rice, 202, 233 

RICK, Dr., 5/233, 240 

Rio Hacha, 6, 25, 120, juSi, 182, 
187 

Rio Negro (river), 232, 237, 239, 
240 

Rivet, quoted, 282-8 

Roads, 9, 88, 89, 97, 101, 104, 105, 
106, 112, 154, 214, 216, 238, 244 

ROBLEDO, 19 

RODRIGUKZ FRESLE, quoted (ver- 
sion of El Dorado), 226 

Rosario College, 25, 253 

ROTHLISBERGER, Prof essor, quoted 
(view of llanos), 233 

Rubber, 53, 125, 178, 170, 193, 197, 
205, 210, 213, 233, 236, 237, 239, 
240, 242 

Ruiz (mt), 9 

Sabaletas, coal at, 163 

Sabana of Bogota", 98-101, 217, 

224; Sabana mil way, 99, too, 

114 ; coal found, 263 
Sabanalarga, 189 
SAFFRAY, 5 
Salaries, 248, 256 
SALAVARRIETA, POUCARPA, 265 
Salt, too, 159, 160, 182, 213, 218 
Samacd, coal at, 163 
Samaniego mining clistrict, 173 
SAMPER, f , M., quoted, 223 
SAMPER, MIGUEL, 263 
San Agustfn, 208 
San Andr6s (St. Andrew's) Islands, 

190, ipi 

San Jose, 238, 239 
San Juan River, 6, 7, 193, 195 ; 

platinum deposits, 165 ; gold, 

174, 195, 338 

San Martin, 10, 139, 229, 238 
San Nicolas Mine, 171 
San Sebastian, 14 
SANCLEMENTE, I^csidcnt, 41 
Sanitation, 46, 184, 188, 193, 194, 



me, 173 

Santa F6, see Bogotd 
Santa Isabel (mt.), 9 
Santa Mark (mt.), 9 
Santa Mark dc Daricn, 15 



INDEX 



311 



Santa Marta (inn), 209 
Santa Marta (city), 25, 62, 85, 91, 
I 53; *55> 182, 103, 184 ; founded, 

Santa Marta Railway, 91, 114, 183 ; 

possible extension, 118, 121, 153 
Santa Marta, Sierra Nevada de, 7, 

139, 143, 147, 151, 152, 156, 181, 

185-7 ; coal deposits, 164 
Santa Rosa, 102, 216 
SANTANDER, President, 35-9 
Santander (Department), 03, 64, 

155,212-15, 251, 252; mining, 

Santander (town); 206 

Sarare River, 233 

Sarsaparilla, 241 

Savanilla, 89, 90 

Savings Banks, 85 

Saw mills, 178, 190, 194, 196 

School of Mines, 171, 253 

Schools, 249 seq. 

Sciences, Natural, neglect of, 

254> 2 55 

Scientists, Colombian, 254, 255 

Scots Darien Colony, 27, 28 

Seasons, 138, 139, 231, 239, 245; 
see Climate 

SELFRIDGE, 5 

Selvas, 6, 10, 228, 237-47 

Senate, 66 

Serrejon, coal deposits, 164 

Servants, domestic, 222 

Sesquile saltworks, 159 

Sevilla River, 153 

Sheep, 216, 217 

Shipping, 183, 187 ; see Steamships 

Sibundoy, 244 

Sierra Nevada de S. Marta, see 
Santa Marta 

SIEVERS, 5 

Silver : currency, 73 ; production, 
166; in Tolima, 173; Frias 
mine, 173; Zancudo mine, 171 ; 
exports, 124 ; mines and depo- 
sits, 164, 171, 173 

SIMONS, 5 

Sincelejo, 118, 189 

Sincerin, 146, 190 

Sin6 River, 6, 15, 190; mineral 
wealth, 164; forest products, 
178, 190 

Sispata, 190 

Situation of Colombia, 2 

Slavery, negro, 21, 23, 43, 174 



Smuggling, 22, 31, 134, 230 

SOETBEER, Dr., estimate of mineral 
production, 167 

Sogamoso, 120 

Sogamoso River, 179, 214, 215 

SoBerino Mine, 172 

Somondoco emerald mines, 161 

Sonson, 203 

Sotara (mt.), 8, 206 

Southern (Sur) Railway, 99-101, 
114, 225 

Spain, trade with, 126-8 

Spaniards, 20, 22 ; diversity of 
races, 199 

Spanish colonial policy, 20-30 

Spanish conquest, 13-20 

Spanish mines, 168, 170, 174 

SPIRA, JORGE (Hohermuth;, 19 

State sovereignty, 38, 40 ; abol- 
ished, 41 

Steamships: ocean, 89, 90, 91, 
109, 183 ; river, 93, 95, 108, 118, 
169, 175, 187, 192, 193, 196, 213, 
231, 236, 237, 238, 242, 244 

STOEPEL, Dr., 208 

STUBEL, 5 

Suaza hats, 210 

SUCRE, 39 

Sugar, 139, 146, 155, 156, 185, 190, 
202, 205, 211, 217, 233 

Suma Paz, Cerro de la, coal at, 
163 

Supia mines, 172 
Supreme Court, 67 

Sur Railway, 99-101, 114, 225 
Swine, 140, 217 

Tagua, 140, 193, 195, 196, 197; 2*5 

Tamalameque, 104, 117 

Tamana River, 165 

Tanning, 143 

Tariff, 133, 134 

Tarqui, battle of, 39 

Tausa saltworks, 159 

Taxation, 61, 64, 65 

Teachers, 248, 252 

Telembi River, 196 

Temperature, 106, 138, 139, 188, 

245 ; see Climate 
Tequendama falls, 225 
Timber, 178-80, 190, 194, 196 
Timbiqui, 174 
Tin, 164 
Titiribi, 119 ; coal at, 163 ; gold 

and silver, 171 



312 



INDEX 



Titles, land, 156, 157, 235 

Tobacco, 125, 190, 203, 205, 211 

fplima (Department), 63, 143, 155, 
207, 2x0, 251, 252 ; mining, 168, 
173 ; character of population, 21 1 

Tolima (mt), 9 

Tolima Railway, 105, 114, 119 

Tolu, balsam of, 178 

Trade, foreign, 123-31 ; domestic, 
124, 135-7 > in Caqueta region, 

243, 9^ 

Transportation, 88-122; lack of 
facilities an obstacle to trade, 
133; to agriculture, 143, 151, 
i53 *54 *$& ; to mining, 160, 
164, 175 ; to forest utilization, 178 

Travel, 88-122 ; safety of, 71 ; 
equipment, 94, 95; see also 
Transportation 



^ 

Truando River, 193 

Tucurinca River, 153 

Tuiua, 206 

Tumaco, 108, 109, 156, 179, 196 j 

customs duties, 134 
Tunahi hills, 7 
Tunja, 62, 120, 215 ; sacred lake, 

225 
Ttiquerres, 207 

ULLOA, ANTONIO DE, 3, 165 

Unilla River, 240 

United Fruit Company, 153, 183- 

5, 192 
United States of America, diplo- 

matic relations with and Latin 

American policy, 47-51, 55; 

trade toith, 124-30 
Universities, 253-7 
Upin saltworks, 159, 160 
Urabd, Gulf of, 14 ; territory, 63 j 

projected railroad to, 119; 

improvements at, 119, 153 ; coal 

deposits, 164, 191 
URIBE-URIBE, RAFAEL, 41, 54, 258 
URICOECHEA, 255 
URSUA, PEDRO DE, 19, 214 

VAIULLO (Baclillo), n> 
Valle (Department), (>$, 203-6, 249, 
25^ 252 



Valledupar, 95, 120, 186 

VAKGAS VERGAIU, J. M., quoted, 

232, 241 
Vaupes River and Territory, 63, 

237, 240, 241 
Vegetable ivory, 125, 140, 193, u/>, 

2I 5 

Vela, Cape de la, 13, 14 

Venezuela, union with, 37; se- 
cedes, 39; diplomatic relations 
with, 52, 214 ; railroad to fron- 
tier, 117, 213 ; frontier, 230 

VENERO DE LEIVA, Governor, 24 

VERGARA, J. M,, 259 

VERGARA y VEIASCO, 5 

VERNON, Admiral, 27-9 

VESPUCCI, 13 

Viceroys, 27 

Vichada River, 10, 233, 237 

Villa viccncio, 236, 238; coal at, 
163 

Vinagre River, 207 

Waupes River, 63, 237, 240, 241 

Wax-palm, 105 

WKLSERS, grant of Venezuela to, 

*9 

WENTWORTH, Genoral, 27 
Western Andes Mining Company 

172 
Western Cordilleras, 5-8, 194, 196, 

204; mining, 159, 163, 172, 196, 

197 
Wheat and barley, 153, 202, 507, 

215, 217, 218 

WHITE, R. B., 5 ; quoted, 175 
Woods, 178-80, 190 
Woodsmen, expert, 178 
Wool, 216 

Ynirida River, 232, 333, 237 
Yucca> 154, 202, 237 

Zancudo Mine, 170, 171 
Zaragoza, 120; coal at, 163 ; placer 

mines, 169 

ZEA, 254, ,260 ; quoted, 38, 39 
Zipaquird, 100; saltworks, 159, 

160 ; coal mines, 163 
Zones, climatic, 106, 138, 139 
Zulia River, 103, 117, 213, 214